Social Care and NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding
“We see Martin Searle as the go-to firm when it comes to the need for high-level technical and practical advice on elderly client matters, particularly involving deputyship, attorneyship and funding matters.”
Client Testimonial, Legal 500
Your work as a Professional Deputy will include dealing with unfavourable decisions made by Health and Social Services about your clients’ statutory funding entitlement and care packages. This requires knowledge of public law principles and successful tactics to achieve the best possible outcomes for your clients who will have complex needs.
How do I ensure my client is receiving the funding they are entitled to?
Securing adequate care funding can be complicated, particularly when Health and Social Services seek to avoid their legal duty or limit the extent of their responsibility to meet your clients’ needs. Our expert Community Care Law team provide advice on the statutory support your client is entitled to and work in collaboration with you to secure maximum funding awards and appropriate care packages. A good starting point is instructing us to undertake an initial file audit about statutory funding, or to arrange telephone call to discuss urgent care funding issues.
Challenging NHS Continuing Healthcare Decisions
We advise and represent Professional Deputies and Attorneys in NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) eligibility appeals to secure funding for clients who live at home or in care home settings. This includes advice about retaining NHS CHC eligibility in the longer term after your client has been found eligible. We work alongside you to provide the information that you require to obtain specific authorisation from the Court of Protection in line with the judgment in Re: ACC.
S117 aftercare funding and other retrospective funding
We have worked on a significant numbers of cases to obtain retrospective funding for people who have been wrongly charged for care under s117 Mental Health Act 1983. We also successfully act for clients who have been incorrectly denied care and support from Health or Social Services, on the basis of their Personal Injury award.
Securing an adequate care package
In addition to working with you to secure statutory funding for your clients with complex needs, we will advise whether the care package being offered by Health and / or Social Services is adequate, in the public law sense. Health and Social Services may not have a duty to cover the full cost of your client’s individual care package. But the proposed package will be unlawful and can be challenged, if it fails to meet all of your client’s assessed, eligible needs.
A care package which is based on arbitrary ceilings or other blanket policies may also be unlawful. We can successfully challenge unlawful care packages to increase the amount of statutory funding on offer, remove top ups for your clients in care homes and ensure that care at home is a financially sustainable option.
Our comprehensive service for Professional Deputies and Attorneys
We work collaboratively with solicitors’ firms across England, sharing our expertise to complement your areas of legal practice and enhance your existing services.
To discuss how we can support you with securing Health and Social Services funding and care packages, contact our Services for Professional Deputies team today on 01273 609911, or email deputyservices@ms-solicitors.co.uk.
