NHS Continuing Healthcare
NHS Independent Review Panel: Application and Representation
One merged stage: the IRP application and representation at the panel, prepared and delivered by registered social workers
The Independent Review Panel is the NHS England stage of a Continuing Healthcare appeal, reviewing whether the Integrated Care Board followed proper procedure and applied the National Framework correctly. We handle the application and the panel representation as one merged stage: a registered social worker prepares the application, builds the evidence bundle and represents the family at the panel. The fixed fee is £6,250 plus VAT.
£6,250
Fixed fee, plus VAT, stated before instruction
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 NHS Continuing Healthcare support is social work led: we prepare and present the evidence of need. We are not a law firm and not a claims company.
When your case goes to the panel
The Independent Review Panel is for cases where local resolution with the Integrated Care Board has not resolved the dispute. NHS England convenes the panel, which reviews the procedure the ICB followed and how it applied the National Framework to the evidence.
We handle the application and the panel attendance as a single stage with a single fee, because a strong application and strong representation are the same piece of work: the evidence bundle that persuades on paper is the one we present in the room.
What the panel reviews
Where local resolution does not resolve an NHS Continuing Healthcare dispute, the case can go to an Independent Review Panel convened by NHS England. The panel is independent of the Integrated Care Board that made the decision.
The panel asks two questions: did the ICB follow the proper procedure, and did it apply the National Framework correctly to the evidence? The application and the bundle are built around exactly those questions, judged against the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of the person's 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
Framework: National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (2022 revision); NHS England Independent Review procedures; the primary health need test
For more, read our guide: The Independent Review Panel explained
Also see: Challenging a CHC decision
Acting as a professional deputy or attorney? Read: Re ACC and CHC appeals: what the ruling means for professional deputies
Our support process
Initial enquiry and triage
Contact us by phone, email or website form. We review where your case stands after local resolution and confirm the route within one working day.
Scope and fixed fee
We confirm the scope, the fixed fee plus VAT and any travel charge, in writing before you commit to anything.
The application
A registered social worker prepares the application to NHS England, setting out where the ICB departed from proper procedure or misapplied the National Framework.
The evidence bundle
The evidence bundle is organised domain by domain, so the panel can find every point in the records rather than take anyone's word for it.
The panel and after
Your social worker represents the family at the panel, presents the case, and afterwards explains the panel's findings and what follows, including the Ombudsman route where needed.
What you receive
Support is practical and evidence led. You receive:
The IRP application, prepared and submitted to NHS England
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An organised, domain-mapped evidence bundle
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Representation at the panel by a registered social worker
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A written summary of the panel's findings and the next steps
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Fees
£6,250 plus VAT
Independent Review Panel application and attendance £6,250 plus VAT, fixed, handled as one merged stage. Travel for in-person attendance is confirmed in writing before booking.
Travel for in-person attendance is confirmed in writing before booking.
Fixed fee confirmed in writing
The whole price, plus VAT, is agreed before instruction. One merged stage, one fee.
One merged stage
Application and attendance handled together, not sold separately.
An organised evidence bundle
Every point anchored to the records, domain by domain.
Representation on the day
A registered social worker presents the case at the panel.
How the Independent Review Panel works in practice
By the time a daughter contacted us, her mother's case had already been through local resolution and the refusal had been upheld. The family were exhausted and close to giving up, convinced that the same arguments would simply be rejected a third time.
A registered social worker prepared the application to NHS England around the two questions the panel actually asks: whether the Integrated Care Board followed proper procedure, and whether it applied the National Framework correctly to the evidence. The bundle was organised domain by domain, so every point the family made could be found in the records rather than taken on trust. At the panel, the same social worker presented the case and answered the panel's questions.
The recommendation was the panel's to make, and the decision that followed was the ICB's. What the family controlled was the quality of the evidence in front of both, and that is what the merged application and representation stage exists to deliver.
This is an illustrative example. It does not describe any individual client.
Why families and professionals choose Nellie Supports
Social work led, not a claims company
Registered social workers prepare and present the evidence of need. We are not a call centre and not a no-win-no-fee operation.
One team, application to panel
The bundle that persuades on paper is the one we present in the room, prepared once and prepared properly.
Fixed fees, plus VAT
The whole price is published and confirmed in writing before instruction. No percentages, no surprises.
Peer reviewed as standard
Everything we prepare is reviewed by a second qualified professional before it is used.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Independent Review Panel
What is the Independent Review Panel?
An independent panel convened by NHS England, separate from the Integrated Care Board that made the decision. It reviews two things: whether the ICB followed the proper procedure, and whether it applied the National Framework correctly to the evidence of the person's needs.
Why are the application and the attendance one fee?
Because they are the same piece of work. The application that persuades NHS England to convene a panel is built from the same evidence bundle we present on the day, so splitting them into separately charged stages duplicates effort and cost. One stage, one fee: £6,250 plus VAT.
Do we need to have been through local resolution first?
Normally yes. The panel expects local resolution with the Integrated Care Board to have been attempted first. If you are earlier in the journey, our appeal application and local resolution services cover those stages, and everything prepared there carries forward to the panel if it is needed.
What happens after the panel?
The panel makes a recommendation to the Integrated Care Board, and in most cases the ICB accepts it. If the outcome still does not resolve matters, or the process itself was mishandled, the remaining route is a referral to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which we support as a separate service.
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.
Related NHS Continuing Healthcare guides
Challenging a CHC decision
The NHS Continuing Healthcare process explained
CHC eligibility and primary health need
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 Appeal Support
CHC Appeal Application
Ombudsman (PHSO) Referral
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.
Local resolution has not resolved it?
Contact Nellie Supports to discuss the Independent Review Panel. We will review where your case stands, confirm the fixed fee and set out the next steps 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.