Londoners the least likely to be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding

by London-TV in Business

Leading law firm, Winston Solicitors says London is home to three of the least likely areas for patients to be found eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding in the whole of England.

The NHS’ CHC scheme is intended to meet the full cost of care for adults with significant ongoing healthcare needs. Decisions on who is eligible for it are made through a complex process of assessments and subsequent approval by regional Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).

South West London ICB, North East London ICB and North Central London ICB were all in the bottom 10 of an ICB league table for CHC eligibility during 2025 / 26 – with just 9.9 per cent (102 of 1,035 assessments), 11.3 per cent (87 of 773) and 11.5 per cent (103 of 896) of successful assessments respectively.

Only North West London ICB (23.8 per cent – 273 of 1,145) was above the national average of 17.4%. The worst in England was 5.6 per cent in Gloucestershire ICB, while the best was Black Country ICB with 42.2 per cent of successful assessments.

James Urquhart-Burton, Head of Continuing Healthcare Claims at Winston Solicitors, said: “Everybody’s well aware that there are regional differences between eligibility rates around the country, to the extent that it’s long been referred to as a postcode lottery.”

“Of course, there will be legitimate differences between the different areas because populations and their health needs differ, but a system that produces a 42 per cent success rate in one ICB and less than 6 per cent in another demands proper investigation and explanation.”

See notes to editors for ICB Top 10 and Bottom 10 League tables for CHC eligibility across England during 2025 / 26.

“For those whose loved ones are being assessed, these figures aren’t just abstract statistics,” added James. “Being eligible for Continuing Healthcare can lead to the NHS meeting the full cost of someone’s care rather than them or their families potentially having to fund the substantial care costs themselves.”

“Patients should be able to trust that comparable needs will lead to comparable decisions, wherever they live. To achieve that level of trust, the ICB’s responsible for CHC decisions need to explain what is driving these enormous variations, while NHS England should ensure that significant outliers are properly investigated and understood.”