Who can represent your relative at NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments?

Published 13/03/2018

Please note: This article was published prior to July 2022, and some information may be outdated.

Who can you take with you to an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment?

No. 7 in our series of 27 tips on NHS Continuing Healthcare…

In a nutshell, anyone you choose (including you, of course) can represent your relative at NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments.

Some families report being told that a family member must attend alone. Other families report being told that they are not allowed to take a professional advisor with them.

This is nonsense.

It is up to you, as your relative’s main representative, who you choose to support you – and you don’t have to ask the assessors’ for their permission.

In addition, nowhere does it say that a person can have only one representative

The National Framework guidelines (the main NHS Continuing Healthcare guidelines) frequently refer to the importance of family involvement in the assessment process – and the importance of the person being assessed having a representative.

The definition of ‘representative’ in the National Framework is broad – see page 122:

“Any friend, unpaid carer or family member who is supporting the individual in the process as well as anyone acting in a more formal capacity (e.g. welfare deputy or power of attorney, or an organisation representing the individual).”

There’s also nothing to stop any representative and/or family member fully contributing to the discussion during an assessment.

So if you’re told you can’t bring anyone else with you to represent your relative at NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments – or that you (or those you invite to attend with you) can’t speak at the meeting – refer the assessors to their own guidelines.

You’ll find a link to the National Framework and the other main NHS Continuing Healthcare guidelines here.

Tip no. 6: 3 ways to reduce and challenge care fees

Tip no. 8: 3 questions to ask an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessor

Tagged Categories: CHC essentials, CHC funding, Getting assessed, NHS Continuing Healthcare, Requiring advocacy

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3 Comments

Fiona Winstanley October 28, 2018 at 7:23 am

Why am I being told I can only attend attend a continuing assessement meeting rather than the whole meeting.I have LPA welfare and my mother has lost capacity due to alzheimers.she is in a nursing home and has been since april 18 self funded awaiting assessement

Margaret Scott March 13, 2018 at 2:46 pm

Who is responsible for asking family member to assessment if the patient is under the Mental CapacityAct. I asked CCG if they were responsible for telling me (next of kin) when assessment was to take place and was told it was the nursing homes responsibility. I was not advised by nursing home who I was in dispute with. The patient was assessed without advocacy. Is this right? Is this against the Nhs rules under the National Framework?

Beverley March 13, 2018 at 1:01 pm

Hi we asked if we could take a professional note taker with us. It was refused - we were told they would take full minutes of the meeting. However that did not happen. They then said the Multidisciplinary Team report was good enough as a record of what took place ??