NHS Continuing Healthcare
A qualification review first, credited in full if you proceed, so you know the records support a claim before you commit
A retrospective NHS Continuing Healthcare claim asks the Integrated Care Board to assess a past period of care that was never assessed for CHC eligibility at the time. Where the records show the person had a primary health need during that period, care fees paid during it can be repaid. Nellie Supports starts every retrospective case with a £495 qualification review, credited in full against the claim fee if the family proceeds, so you know whether the evidence supports a claim before committing to one.
£6,950
Fixed fee, plus VAT, never a percentage of recovery
One working day
Enquiry triage response
England
Wales runs a separate Continuing NHS Healthcare framework
Social work led
Registered social workers, peer reviewed
Nellie Supports is England and Wales' largest identified specialist private social work and mental capacity assessment practice, operating through a permanent, full-time employed team that has completed more than 11,000 assessments. Our retrospective NHS Continuing Healthcare work is social work led and fixed fee: we prepare and present the evidence of need. We are not a law firm and not a claims company, and we never take a percentage of anything recovered.
When a retrospective claim may apply
Some people paid for their own care during periods when NHS Continuing Healthcare was never considered: no Checklist, no assessment, no eligibility decision. A retrospective claim asks the Integrated Care Board to assess that unassessed period now, on the records from the time.
This is different from appealing a decision. Where an eligibility decision was made and you disagree with it, the appeal route applies. Retrospective claims are for the periods where the assessment simply never happened, including periods of care for someone who has since died.
What a retrospective claim tests
The question is the same one that decides any CHC case: did the person have a primary health need during the period in question. The difference is that the evidence is historic, so the claim stands or falls on the care records of the time.
A primary health need is judged by the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of the person's needs. In a retrospective claim, those characteristics have to be demonstrated from records written years ago, which is why the viability review comes first.
Nature of the needs during the period
Intensity of the needs during the period
Complexity of the needs during the period
Unpredictability of the needs during the period
Framework: National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (2022 revision); the primary health need test applied to the unassessed period; Integrated Care Board retrospective review processes
For more, read our guide: Retrospective CHC claims explained
Acting as a professional deputy or attorney? Read: Re ACC and CHC appeals: what the ruling means for professional deputies
Our retrospective claim process
Initial enquiry and triage
Tell us who the person is, the period of care in question and where they were cared for. We respond within one working day.
Records viability review
For a fixed fee agreed in writing, a registered social worker examines a sample of the care records from the period and the funding position at the time.
An honest go or no-go
You receive a written view on whether the records support a claim. If they do not, we say so plainly and the matter ends there.
Full claim preparation
Where the evidence has substance, we analyse the full historic records, map the needs of the period to the domains and prepare the structured claim submission.
Submission and follow-through
We submit to the Integrated Care Board's retrospective route and stay with the case until the outcome is confirmed in writing.
What you receive
The work is records based and staged, so you only ever pay for the next step the evidence justifies:
An honest written viability view before you commit
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
Analysis of the historic care records for the period
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
The needs of the period mapped to the care domains
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
A structured retrospective claim submission to the ICB
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
Follow-through until the outcome is confirmed
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
A written outcome summary and next steps
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
Fees
£6,950 plus VAT
Retrospective claim £6,950 plus VAT for a claim period of up to 12 months, plus £500 plus VAT for each additional 12 month period. Qualification review £495 plus VAT, credited in full against the claim fee if you proceed. Fixed fees only; we never charge a percentage of any repayment. Travel for in-person work is confirmed in writing before booking.
Travel for in-person attendance is confirmed in writing before booking.
Fixed fee, confirmed in writing
Each stage priced whole, VAT included, before you commit.
Honest viability view
A frank written answer before the full claim spend.
Full historic records analysis
The records of the period read properly, line by line.
Structured ICB submission
The claim prepared and presented the way the Framework expects.
Peer review as standard
A second qualified professional reviews everything.
No percentage, ever
We take no share of any repayment.
How a retrospective CHC claim works in practice
A son contacted us about his late mother's four years in a nursing home. She had paid her own fees throughout, and going through her papers after she died he could find no sign that NHS Continuing Healthcare had ever been considered: no Checklist, no assessment, no decision letter. He did not want to launch a claim on a hunch, and he did not want a company taking a slice of whatever might come back.
We started where we always start, with the records viability review. A registered social worker obtained a sample of the nursing home's daily notes and care plans from the period and read them against the primary health need test: what her needs were, how intense and unpredictable they became, and what it actually took to manage them. The review gave him a written, honest answer on whether the records could carry a claim, and only then did the full claim stage begin, at a fixed fee he had seen in writing before saying yes.
Whatever the Integrated Care Board decides, the claim now rests on the records of the time, presented the way the Framework expects.
This is an illustrative example. It does not describe any individual client.
Why families choose Nellie Supports for retrospective claims
Viability before commitment
The review stage exists to stop families paying for claims the records cannot carry. If the evidence is not there, we tell you at the first stage, not the last.
Never a percentage
Fixed fees only, published and VAT included. We take no share of any repayment, however large.
Records based, not hope based
A retrospective claim is won or lost in the care records of the time. That is where we do the work.
Social work led
Registered social workers who write professional assessments for a living read historic records the way the assessors of the time should have.
Peer reviewed as standard
Every viability view and every submission is reviewed by a second qualified professional before it reaches you or the ICB.
A permanent employed team
A full-time, in-house multidisciplinary team with more than 11,000 assessments completed practice-wide.
Frequently Asked Questions About Retrospective CHC Claims
Who can make a retrospective claim?
A family member or personal representative can pursue a claim for a period of care that was never assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare, including care received by someone who has since died. Executors and attorneys commonly bring claims on behalf of an estate. If you are unsure whether you have standing to claim, tell us who you are acting for and we will confirm the position.
How is this different from an appeal?
An appeal challenges an eligibility decision that was made. A retrospective claim covers a period where no assessment happened at all. If a decision exists for your period, the appeal route is the right one and we will say so.
How far back can a claim go?
Cut-off dates have applied to some historic periods, so the answer depends on the dates of care involved. Some older periods are now closed to new claims, while more recent unassessed periods generally remain open. Confirming the position for your specific dates is part of the records viability review, and we will tell you plainly if a period cannot be claimed.
Do you take a percentage of what is repaid?
No, never. We charge fixed fees only, stated in writing before each stage begins, and we never take a percentage of any repayment secured. Percentage arrangements are how claims companies price their work; we are not a claims company. Whatever is repaid following a successful claim belongs entirely to the person or their estate.
Can you guarantee the fees will be repaid?
No, and no honest provider can guarantee an outcome. What we do guarantee is a frank written view of the evidence at the viability review stage, before you spend anything on full claim preparation. If the records do not support a claim, we say so plainly and the matter ends there, which protects you from paying for work that cannot succeed.
Is this legal advice?
No. Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support. We do not provide regulated legal advice, and where a legal remedy is needed we will say so and support your solicitor's work. In retrospective claims this means we prepare and present the evidence, while any question of legal action remains a matter for you and your legal adviser.
Related NHS Continuing Healthcare guides
Retrospective CHC claims explained
The NHS Continuing Healthcare process explained
Who pays for care fees
Re ACC and CHC appeals: guidance for professional deputies
Other CHC support stages
If your situation is at a different stage, our team supports the full NHS Continuing Healthcare pathway.
CHC Assessment Support
CHC Appeal Support
Fast Track Review Advocacy
Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support. We do not provide regulated legal advice, and where a legal remedy is needed we will say so and support your solicitor's work.
Wondering about a past period of care?
Contact Nellie Supports with the outline: who the person is, the period in question and where they were cared for. We will confirm whether the viability review is the right next step and the fixed fee in writing.
We aim to respond to all enquiries the same working day.
Written by Ben Slater, Founder and Managing Director, Nellie Supports. Read our editorial policy.