Continuing care for children and young people
NHS continuing care is for babies, children and young people if they have care needs which cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services alone.
These are usually caused by:
- Disability
- Accident
- Illness
To be eligible for NHS continuing care, the child or young person must be assessed by a team of healthcare professionals (a multidisciplinary team).
The team will look at all the care needs and think about:
- What help is needed
- How complex the needs are
- How severe the needs are
- How unpredictable they are. This includes any risks to health, if the right care is not provided at the right time
For most people, there is an initial checklist assessment which is sent to the continuing care team by a professional who knows the child well. This is used to decide if the child or young person needs a full assessment. After the first assessment, the child or young person and their parents or guardians will be told that:
- They do not meet the criteria for a full assessment of NHS continuing care. Therefore, they are not eligible
or
- They will be referred for a full assessment of eligibility
The assessment looks at the child or young person's health needs under 12 different headings and these are marked using the guidance from the NHS. There is more information on the UK government website Children and young people's continuing care national framework.
The funding may be necessary for care or equipment. It is often used to support in the child or young person's own home. The continuing care team will support the family to think about what would help them. They will give them the information about what is available including the option of a personal health budget.
Referral information
A health or social care professional can contact the continuing care team. The team will ask them to complete a pre-assessment checklist and ask permission from the parent/carer to make the referral.
Norfolk services that support children with continuing care:
The Children and Young People's Continuing care team is part of Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board.
Telephone: 01603 257260 (Direct line between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday)
Email: nwicb.cypcontinuingcare@nhs.net (Monitored 9am-5pm Monday to Friday)
Norfolk services that support young adults with continuing healthcare:
Transition planning
NHS guidance on transition health planning to adult continuing healthcare. This guide has been produced to ensure that there is no gap in a young person's support when moving to NHS adult continuing healthcare.