NHS Children and Young People’s Continuing Care

The NHS body responsible for decision-making on Children and Young People’s Continuing Care is the child’s Integrated Care Board.  A child or young person can be referred by a health professional or carer for an assessment. A screening checklist assessment usually takes place to determine whether a full assessment is needed.

The full assessment should consider the preferences of the child or young person and their family and include a holistic assessment of their needs. It should also consider reports and risk assessments from a multidisciplinary team, or evidence collected during an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment.  In addition, a health assessor should visit the child to carry out a Decision Support Tool assessment of their health needs across ten care domains such as eating and drinking, mobility and challenging behaviour.

A decision on eligibility is then made by a multi-agency forum or panel. The decision should be made within 6 weeks of the start of the full assessment.  A package of care is then developed and put in place.

As the parent or carer of a disabled child or young person with complex needs, you may need advice and assistance throughout this process particularly if your child is found ineligible for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care or you are unhappy with the package of care that is proposed.

Professional Deputies for children and young people may also need advice on whether their client is receiving all of the publicly funded care to which they are entitled. Many children eligible for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care may also have an Education, Health and Care Plan as they have Special Educational Needs, or may have social care needs.  Health and Social Services are supposed to work closely together to ensure that a child’s needs are met, but sometimes this does not happen in practice.

Our specialist team of Community Care lawyers can advise you on a range of issues and problems with Children and Young People’s Continuing Care including:

• Challenging a decision not to proceed to a full assessment for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care;
• Appealing against a decision that your child is not eligible for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care;
• Challenging the number of hours of care that your child is eligible to receive or the type of care;
• Personal Health Budgets and Direct Payments;
• Advising on which of your child’s needs should be met by Education, Health and Social Care respectively;
• What support you are entitled to as a parent carer;
• Transitions from Children and Young People’s Continuing Care to NHS Continuing Healthcare; and
• Resolving disputes with Health and Social Services through correspondence, mediation and if necessary legal challenge.

If require specialist Community Care advice on Children and Young People’s Continuing Care, we can help. Contact us on 01273 609911, or email info@ms-solicitors.co.uk to find out more.