Nellie Supports · NHS Continuing Healthcare
CHC Eligibility Consultation and Action Plan
Unsure whether to ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare or what to do next? Talk through the person's care needs and the stage you have reached with a social worker. You receive a written action plan with recommended next steps, evidence to gather and relevant deadlines. £336 including VAT, delivered remotely.
Service overview
Not sure where to start?
Unsure whether to ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare or what to do next? Talk through the person's care needs and the stage you have reached with a social worker. You receive a written action plan with recommended next steps, evidence to gather and relevant deadlines. £336 including VAT, delivered remotely.
An optional consultation and written action plan to help you decide your next CHC step. £336 including VAT, by phone or video.
At a glance
Role
Understand your stage, the information that matters and the next step to consider.
Framework
National Framework for NHS CHC and NHS-funded Nursing Care, 2022 revision
Format
Background information, a remote consultation and a written action plan.
Deliverable
Your stage, recommended actions, evidence to gather and known deadlines.
Coverage
England only. Wales has a separate Continuing NHS Healthcare framework.
£336 including VAT
Fixed consultation fee. Delivered remotely.
Before booking
Tell us about any deadline
England
Cover throughout the country
Social work led
Registered professionals
What it is
When it is needed
Relevant information
Legal test
Process
The report
Fees
Case study
FAQs
Plain-English explanation
What the CHC Eligibility Consultation is
A focused conversation about the person's care needs, the CHC process and what you can do next, followed by a written action plan.
CHC is ongoing care funded entirely by the NHS for adults with a primary health need. It is not means-tested, and a diagnosis alone does not determine eligibility.
The consultation helps you decide whether further assessment or a different funding enquiry is worth considering. You keep the action plan whether or not you instruct us again.
Know the next step before committing to more work
A negative Checklist, an approaching meeting and a refusal each need a different response. We help you understand the stage and the dates to check.
Common situations
When a consultation is the right first step
This service can help when you are new to CHC, unsure what a letter means or deciding whether further paid support would be useful.
It is a limited consultation, not a full records review, assessment or appeal. If detailed case analysis is needed, we explain the separate service and fee before you decide.
Care fees are about to start
You want to understand whether an NHS assessment should be requested alongside care planning.
Nobody has mentioned CHC
The person has significant health needs and no one has raised NHS funding.
A Checklist was negative
You have been told that is the end of it, and you are not sure it is.
A meeting has been booked
A Checklist or DST is coming up and no one has explained what it decides.
A decision letter has arrived
You want to know whether it is worth challenging before the window closes.
You are acting as attorney or deputy
You need a clear next step and to check who has authority to instruct on the person's behalf.
What the consultation covers
We work from the background information you provide and the consultation. Before booking, we agree what to send and what can reasonably be considered within the service.
Where the person is in the CHC process, and which stage comes next
The primary health need test, explained as it applies to this person
An initial view on whether further CHC assessment or evidence review should be considered.
Other routes to ask about, such as a council needs assessment or NHS-funded nursing care, where relevant.
The deadlines and time limits the family must not miss
What you can do yourself at no cost: requesting a Checklist, asking for records, keeping a diary of need
A view, not a decision
The consultation cannot decide eligibility or predict funding. It helps identify the next enquiry or assessment and the information needed to take it forward.
1
The primary health need test
The National Framework applies to adult CHC in England. Eligibility depends on a primary health need, considered through the person's total needs.
Nature of the person's needs
Intensity of the person's needs
Complexity of the person's needs
Unpredictability of the person's needs
2
What the consultation can establish
We explain nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability in everyday terms, and how relevant evidence might be gathered. A full assessment is needed before the NHS decides eligibility.
Framework: National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (2022 revision); the primary health need test; Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support Statutory Guidance for local authority funding and charging
For more, read our guide: CHC eligibility and primary health need
Also see: Who pays for care fees
The framework
How CHC eligibility is judged
Enquiry and booking
Tell us what has happened and any deadline. We confirm whether a consultation fits, the arrangements and the £336 including VAT fee including VAT before you book.
Intake and documents
We agree the background information and any documents to provide. This service does not include reading a full set of care records.
The consultation
We discuss everyday care, your questions and the stage reached, then explain the practical options for the next step.
The written action plan
You receive a written action plan with recommendations, evidence to gather and deadlines we have identified from the information available.
What happens next
You decide what to do next. Any further Nellie service is a separate instruction with its own agreed scope and fee.
What happens next
How the consultation works
What we work from
The consultation uses a limited account of the case. A detailed records review belongs to a separately scoped assessment or merits service.
The intake form
Completed before the call: conditions, daily needs, care arrangements and who currently pays.
Relevant documents agreed before booking
For example, a decision letter or Checklist outcome that helps identify your stage.
The conversation
What a typical day and night look like, and what happens when things go wrong.
What you have been told so far
By the care home, the GP, the social worker or the Integrated Care Board.
The funding position
Whether the person is self funding, council funded, or has never been assessed for either.
Deliverable
What you receive
You leave with a written plan you can use yourself or share with someone supporting you.
A plain English account of where the person is in the CHC process
An initial recommendation on whether further CHC assessment or case review should be considered
Other relevant funding enquiries or sources of advice to consider
The deadlines and time limits, with dates where they are known
The evidence that would be needed, and how to obtain it
A recommended next step: a Nellie Supports service, or something you can do yourself at no cost
Who we work with
For solicitors, deputies, attorneys and advisers
A documented starting point for a family, attorney, deputy or adviser considering the next step. We check the proposed instruction and authority to act.
Scope confirmed in writing
The fee and what the consultation covers are confirmed before instruction.
A plan for the file
The written action plan records the stage, the route and the deadlines, so the decision to pursue or not is evidenced.
Clear reasons in writing
The action plan distinguishes what we know, what remains uncertain and what information is needed next.
Honest advice on prospects
If the information does not support further paid work, we explain that and the alternatives to consider.
The consultation
£336 including VAT
- Background information agreed before the consultation
- The consultation by phone or video
- Discussion of care needs, CHC stages and the next enquiry to make
- A written action plan
- Recommended next steps and relevant sources of advice
- No travel charge
This consultation has one fee. It does not include an independent needs assessment or further casework.
If you go on to instruct us
Further casework quoted separately
- An independent needs assessment and care plan where required for Nellie's casework
- The service the plan recommends, at the price published on its page
- A clear account of what can be carried forward and what further work is needed
New client casework packages specify the assessment included. This is Nellie's service approach, not a requirement for NHS access. The consultation fee is separate; no credit is promised against later work.
Transparent pricing
One price, and what comes after it
£336 including VAT covers the consultation and action plan. Any further casework is priced separately and only begins if you instruct it.
For families
You have someone to explain the process, organise the relevant evidence and help you put the person's needs into words. The work and fee are agreed before we start.
For professionals
We agree the instruction, authority to act, evidence required, reporting arrangements and timetable with you. Written work links each point to its source.
Provider evidence
Why choose Nellie Supports for a CHC consultation
Our social work perspective connects everyday care needs with the questions the CHC process asks, then turns that discussion into practical next steps.
Why families and professionals choose Nellie Supports
Independent social work support
A social worker helps you explain the care picture and understand what evidence would help.
Independent of the NHS and the care home
Nellie is an independent private practice. We do not make the NHS funding decision.
Honest about prospects
The plan explains any limits in the information and other funding enquiries worth making.
Published fees, never a percentage
The whole price is published and confirmed in writing before the call.
A clear point of contact
You know who to contact about the booking, the written plan and any separate work you may consider.
Written work you can follow
The written plan explains its recommendations and the information on which they are based.
A family preparing for a care home move wants to know whether CHC should be considered.
In this example, the consultation would explore daily and night-time care, current professional involvement and any screening already completed.
The action plan could explain how to request NHS screening, what records to gather and which dates to check. A detailed assessment would remain separate work.
The family would have a practical starting point while the NHS retained responsibility for assessing eligibility.
Illustrative example only. This does not describe a client or predict an NHS or Ombudsman decision.
How the consultation works in practice
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions About the CHC Eligibility Consultation
Will you tell us whether the person is eligible?
No. The NHS decides eligibility after assessment. We help identify whether further assessment or evidence review should be considered and explain the next step.
Do you read the care records?
A full care records review is not included. We agree what background information or documents are appropriate before booking; detailed case review is a separate service.
What if CHC is not realistic for this person?
We can explain other routes to enquire about, including council assessment and NHS-funded nursing care where relevant. Financial products and regulated financial advice require an appropriately authorised adviser.
Is this the same as the needs assessment?
No. This is an optional consultation. An independent needs assessment is a separate piece of work and is included where specified in a new client casework package.
Why is there no new or returning client price?
The consultation is priced separately and does not include an assessment or casework. New and existing clients pay £336 including VAT for this service.
Is this legal or financial advice?
No. Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support in England. We do not provide regulated legal advice. We explain when a solicitor's advice is needed.
What CHC is, who pays for it, and why eligibility depends on primary health need rather than diagnosis or savings.
How eligibility is decided: primary health need, the four key characteristics and the twelve care domains.
How NHS Continuing Healthcare, Funded Nursing Care and means tested council funding differ, and which route pays.
Supporting guidance
Related NHS Continuing Healthcare guides
Our independent needs assessment and care plan underpin Nellie's casework and are included where specified in the new client package. They are not a requirement for accessing NHS assessment.
Checklist preparation and advocacy, with the assessment included where specified in the new client package.
Written submission and representation at local resolution with the Integrated Care Board, the first stage of a CHC appeal. The Independent Review Panel is a separate service.
Where your case can go next
Book a consultation
Not sure whether CHC applies?
Tell us what has happened, what you want to understand and any decision or meeting date. We will confirm whether the consultation is suitable and its £336 including VAT fee including VAT before booking.
Practice leadership: Ben Slater, Founder and Managing Director, Nellie Supports. Read our editorial policy.