NHS Continuing Healthcare
Independent Social Care Needs Assessment and Care Plan: The First Step in Every CHC Case
The mandatory first step for every Nellie Supports CHC case, completed by a registered social worker across England
An independent social care needs assessment is a structured assessment of a person's day-to-day care needs by a registered social worker, producing a written care plan. At Nellie Supports it is the mandatory first step in every NHS Continuing Healthcare case: it creates the evidence base that the Checklist, the Decision Support Tool and any appeal all build on. It is charged once, at £1,100 plus VAT, and never re-charged as your case progresses.
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£1,100
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 you need this assessment
Every Nellie Supports CHC case starts here, whether you are preparing for a first Checklist, facing a Decision Support Tool meeting, or challenging a refusal. The assessment establishes an independent, professional record of the person's day-to-day needs before any NHS process begins.
It is charged once per client and never re-charged as the case progresses. New appeal clients with no previous Nellie Supports involvement also complete a Case Review and Merits Assessment alongside it, so we only take forward appeals with real merit.
The framework the assessment applies
An independent social care needs assessment applies the Care Act 2014 approach to assessing needs and wellbeing, and prepares the evidence base for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is governed by the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care in its 2022 revision.
CHC eligibility turns on whether the person has a primary health need, judged by the nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of their overall needs. The care plan describes needs in exactly those terms, so every later stage starts from evidence in the right language.
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: Care Act 2014; National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (2022 revision); the primary health need test
For more, read our guide: The NHS Continuing Healthcare process explained
Our assessment process
Initial enquiry and triage
Contact us by phone, email or website form. We gather the key details and confirm the right starting point 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 assessment
A registered social worker assesses the person's day-to-day needs, reviews the care records and listens to the family and carers who know the person best.
The written care plan
You receive a written care plan setting out the person's needs and how to meet them, with the evidence mapped to the twelve care domains and peer reviewed before release.
Your next CHC step
We recommend the right next stage, whether that is Checklist support, the full DST, an appeal or Fast Track advocacy. The assessment is never re-charged as your case progresses.
What you receive
The assessment is practical and evidence led. You receive:
An independent assessment of day-to-day care needs
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A written care plan setting out needs and how to meet them
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Evidence mapped to the twelve care domains
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A clear recommendation on the next CHC stage
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Peer review by a second qualified professional
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Fees
£1,100 plus VAT
£1,100 plus VAT, fixed. Charged once per client and never re-charged as your case progresses. Travel is charged separately and 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.
Assessment by a registered social worker
Records, needs and family input, assessed properly.
A written care plan
The person's needs and how to meet them, in plain English.
Evidence in the language of the domains
Mapped to the twelve care domains from day one.
Charged once per client
Never re-charged as your case progresses.
Peer review as standard
A second qualified professional reviews the work before it is used.
How the needs assessment works in practice
A son rang about his mother, who had dementia and diabetes and was being looked after at home by a patchwork of carers and family. He knew she needed more support and suspected CHC might apply, but every conversation with the professionals involved seemed to start from a different version of what her needs actually were.
A registered social worker visited, read the care records, and spent time with his mother and the carers who knew her best. The written care plan that followed set out her needs in plain English and mapped them to the twelve care domains: the night-time checks nobody had written down, the insulin timed around her refusals, the falls that only the family knew about.
When the Checklist was completed weeks later, the family were not starting from a blank page. The evidence of need already existed, in the language the NHS process scores, and it carried through every later stage without being assessed and charged for again.
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 assessment, one fee
Charged once and carried through every later stage of your case, never re-charged.
Fixed fees, plus VAT
The whole price is published and confirmed in writing before instruction. No percentages, no surprises.
A permanent employed team
A full-time, in-house multidisciplinary team, not an ad hoc panel of associates, with more than 11,000 assessments completed practice-wide.
Peer reviewed as standard
Everything we prepare is reviewed by a second qualified professional before it is used.
Honest about outcomes
Eligibility is the Integrated Care Board's decision. We never promise a result, and we say so plainly.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Social Care Needs Assessment
Why does every case start with this assessment?
Because every later stage depends on the quality of the evidence. The Checklist, the Decision Support Tool and any appeal all turn on how the person's day-to-day needs are described. Completing an independent needs assessment first means that evidence exists from day one, in the language the NHS process scores, and it is charged once rather than being repeated and re-charged at every stage.
Is this the same as the council's care needs assessment?
No. A local authority carries out its own Care Act assessment for its own purposes, and this assessment does not replace it. Ours is independent: it is commissioned by you, completed by a registered social worker who does not work for the council or the NHS, and written to establish the strongest accurate record of the person's needs for the CHC process.
Do we need this if care is already in place?
Yes. An existing care package tells you what is being provided, not what the person's assessed needs are today or how they map to the twelve care domains. The assessment creates a current, independent record of need, which is exactly what the Checklist, the DST and any appeal will be judged against.
What does the fee include?
The fixed fee of £1,100 plus VAT covers the assessment itself, the records review, the written care plan and peer review by a second qualified professional. Travel is the only possible addition and is confirmed in writing before booking. The assessment is charged once per client and never re-charged as your case progresses.
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
The NHS Continuing Healthcare process explained
CHC eligibility and primary health need
The CHC assessment process
Where your case can go next
Once the assessment is complete, 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.
Ready to take the first step?
Contact Nellie Supports to arrange an independent social care needs assessment. We will confirm the scope, the fixed fee and 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.