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Original evidence briefing · England · updated 17 September 2026
NHS Continuing Healthcare in 2026: the numbers families should know
The most useful CHC numbers are not a promise of eligibility. They are the official timeframes, rates, thresholds and dates that help families distinguish NHS Continuing Healthcare from NHS-funded Nursing Care and means-tested social care. This briefing brings those figures together from NHS England, DHSC and GOV.UK and explains what each one does — and does not — mean.
Research and legal commentary reviewed by Paris Theodorou, Solicitor & Principal · Christodoulos Ltd · SRA 809508
28 days
Most CHC assessment and eligibility decisions should not exceed this period from a positive Checklist or other notice of potential eligibility.
48 hours
A Fast Track care package should normally be arranged within this period after the ICB receives the completed Fast Track Pathway Tool.
£267.68
Standard weekly NHS-funded Nursing Care rate in England from 1 April 2026.
£368.24
Higher weekly NHS-funded Nursing Care rate in England from 1 April 2026.
£23,250
Upper local-authority social-care capital limit in England for 2026/27. This is not a CHC eligibility threshold.
1 Apr 2012
The key date from which ICBs should generally consider genuinely previously unassessed periods of care under current PUPoC guidance.
1. The 28-day CHC assessment expectation
The National Framework says the overall assessment and eligibility decision-making process should, in most cases, not exceed 28 calendar days from the date the ICB receives a positive Checklist — or, where no Checklist is used, other notice of potential eligibility — to the eligibility decision.
Official source: National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. This is an expectation for most cases, not a guarantee that every case will conclude within 28 days.
2. The 48-hour Fast Track expectation
For a person with a rapidly deteriorating condition who may be entering a terminal phase, the Fast Track route avoids the usual Checklist and DST process. NHS public guidance says the ICB should normally arrange the care package within 48 hours of receiving the completed Fast Track Pathway Tool.
Official source: NHS Continuing Healthcare public information leaflet and Fast Track Pathway Tool guidance.
3. NHS-funded Nursing Care rose by 5.4% in April 2026
From 1 April 2026, the standard FNC rate in England increased from £254.06 to £267.68 per week. The higher rate increased from £349.50 to £368.24 per week. DHSC described this as a 5.4% increase and said around 80,000 people would be better supported.
FNC is not full CHC
FNC is an NHS contribution towards registered nursing care for eligible nursing-home residents. Full NHS Continuing Healthcare is a different funding route and can cover the assessed package of care where the person has a primary health need.
Official source: Department of Health and Social Care, 9 March 2026.
4. £23,250 and £14,250 are social-care capital limits — not CHC limits
For local-authority social-care charging in England in 2026/27, the upper capital limit remains £23,250 and the lower limit remains £14,250. These figures belong to the means-tested social-care system. NHS Continuing Healthcare is not means-tested, so a person does not become ineligible for CHC because their savings or property exceed £23,250.
Official source: DHSC social-care charging circular 2026/27.
5. 1 April 2012 is the key date for current PUPoC guidance
For genuinely previously unassessed periods of care in England, current DHSC/NHS England guidance says ICBs should generally consider requests concerning care provided from 1 April 2012 onwards. Earlier periods may be considered only where exceptional circumstances justify it.
Previously unassessed does not mean previously refused
If the relevant period already received a full CHC assessment and was found not eligible, a PUPoC request is not an automatic route to have the same period assessed again. The appropriate review, appeal or complaints route should be considered.
Official source: DHSC/NHS England PUPoC guidance.
6. Six weeks matters at the NHS England independent-review application stage
NHS England’s public guide says that, after a person remains dissatisfied following the ICB’s local-resolution decision and requests an Application for Independent Review form, the completed form needs to be returned within six weeks so the application can progress.
This is not the same thing as saying every CHC appeal has a universal statutory six-week or six-month deadline. Local ICB review procedures and decision letters must be checked separately.
Official source: NHS England: NHS Continuing Healthcare independent review process.
7. The latest national CHC/FNC release is Q1 2026/27
NHS England published the Q1 2026/27 national CHC and FNC release on 13 August 2026. The collection is quarterly and includes measures such as the number eligible for CHC, referrals, assessments, decisions within 28 days, assessment and referral conversion rates, local review activity, Decision Support Tools and FNC activity.
That matters because it gives researchers a national evidence base without pretending that a national conversion rate predicts the outcome of an individual case.
Official sources: Q1 2026/27 official statistics notice and NHS England CHC/FNC statistical work area.
8. The national CHC data collection is changing
NHS England says the existing quarterly aggregate CHC/FNC collection will be retired at the end of 2026/27, with Q4 2026/27 as its final publication. NHS England intends to publish new quarterly reports derived from the All Age Continuing Care Data Set from October 2026 alongside the existing collection during the transition.
NHS England has also warned that AACCDS currently has known data-quality and completeness issues, so figures from the two sources may differ during transition. Any trend analysis should therefore identify the data source rather than splice the series together without qualification.
Official source: NHS England CHC and FNC statistics.
How to cite this page
Methodology and limitations
This page is an editorial synthesis of official public sources, not an NHS publication and not a substitute for the National Framework. We use exact dates and rates where the source gives them; describe “normally”, “in most cases” and “generally” as guidance rather than guarantees; and do not infer an individual claimant’s prospects from national activity data.
Where a figure belongs to social-care charging rather than CHC, we label that distinction explicitly. Where NHS England is changing data sources, we flag the transition instead of presenting two series as automatically comparable.
Suggested citation: Care Home Cost Claims, “NHS Continuing Healthcare in 2026: the numbers families should know”, reviewed by Paris Theodorou, Solicitor & Principal, Christodoulos Ltd, updated 17 September 2026.
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