Already in a care home
Understand fees, reviews, top-ups, local authority involvement and what to check next.
Urgent safety or medical concerns
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999. For urgent medical help, use NHS 111 or 999 as appropriate. For abuse, neglect or serious care safety concerns, contact the relevant local authority safeguarding adults team and follow urgent routes from the care provider, NHS body or regulator where applicable.
Start here
Choose the situation that is closest to yours. This fills the question box with a safer starter question that avoids personal details.
Choosing a care home
Find out what official documents and checks to use without asking the AI to recommend a provider.
Told to self-fund
Check what a financial assessment means and when local authority or NHS routes may still matter.
Possible NHS Continuing Healthcare
Ask about CHC screening, assessment, decision-making and complaint or review routes.
Hospital discharge
Understand which organisations may be involved when care is arranged after hospital.
Challenge or complaint
Work out whether to use council, NHS, CQC, LGSCO or PHSO routes.
Find resources in your local area
Enter a postcode to find local authority signposts and links to services that can help with local rules, assessments, care availability and complaints routes.
This page is focused on England. Social care rules and organisations differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Common questions
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Question packs
Expand a card to see useful questions. Avoid adding private personal details unless speaking directly to the official organisation.
Questions for the council
Useful when asking about needs assessment, financial assessment and local charging.
- Has a care needs assessment been completed, and can we have a written copy?
- Has a financial assessment been completed, and what evidence is needed?
- Which local charging policy applies?
- Are there any top-up fees, and who is being asked to agree them?
- What local care options are available that meet the assessed needs?
- What is the review process if needs, savings or care costs change?
- Who should we contact if we disagree with the decision?
Questions for the ICB or CHC team
Useful for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded nursing care questions.
- Has a NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist been considered?
- If not, why not, and who can request one?
- If a checklist or Decision Support Tool was completed, can we have a copy?
- What evidence was used to decide whether there is a primary health need?
- Has NHS-funded nursing care been considered if the person is in a nursing home?
- What is the review or appeal route if we disagree?
- Who is the named contact for this case?
Questions before signing
Useful before agreeing care home fees, extras or top-ups.
- What is included in the weekly fee?
- What is charged separately?
- Can fees increase, and how much notice is given?
- Is any third-party top-up being requested, and what written agreement explains it?
- What happens if funding changes or savings run down?
- What notice period applies?
- Where are the latest CQC inspection report and rating?
- What is the complaints process?
Important disclaimer
SocialQA is an experimental AI-assisted information page. AI responses can be incomplete, outdated, misread a source, or phrase something too strongly. Do not rely on an answer as the sole basis for a care, funding, legal, financial or medical decision.
- Always open the cited references and check the original official wording yourself.
- Local variations can significantly affect practical outcomes, including care availability, local authority charging policies, financial assessment decisions, care home fees, top-up arrangements, NHS integrated care board processes and complaint routes.
- For a specific situation, check local authority information and local NHS information before acting.
- Confirm important decisions with the relevant local authority, NHS integrated care board, care provider, regulator, ombudsman, qualified adviser or professional representative.
- Jahosi.co.uk cannot accept responsibility for decisions, losses, delays, disputes or other consequences arising from AI answers or from use of this page without independent fact checking.
- Do not enter sensitive personal, medical, financial or identification details into the chat.
Provider choice limits
SocialQA can help explain how to check official sources, such as CQC reports, local authority information, NHS information, contracts and complaints routes. It must not give opinions, reviews, rankings or recommendations about specific care homes, care agencies, nursing homes, day care centres, healthcare services or named people involved in care.
Plain-English glossary
CHC
NHS Continuing Healthcare. A package arranged and funded solely by the NHS for adults assessed as having a primary health need.
FNC
NHS-funded nursing care. A contribution paid by the NHS towards registered nursing care in a nursing home when CHC does not apply.
ICB
Integrated care board. The NHS body involved in commissioning local NHS services and NHS Continuing Healthcare decisions.
Needs assessment
A local authority assessment of care and support needs. It is separate from a financial assessment.
Financial assessment
A local authority assessment of income, savings and assets to work out what someone may need to contribute.
Top-up fee
An extra payment, often by a third party, when a preferred care option costs more than the amount the local authority will usually pay.
CQC
Care Quality Commission. The regulator for health and adult social care services in England.
LGSCO and PHSO
Official ombudsman routes. LGSCO covers adult social care complaints, while PHSO covers NHS complaints including some CHC issues.
References
These are the validated sources used by this page. Open the original source before relying on any answer. Sources last reviewed: 20 June 2026.
- Care Act 2014legislation.gov.uk
Primary legislation for adult care and support in England.
- Care and support statutory guidanceDepartment of Health and Social Care / GOV.UK
Statutory guidance for local authorities under the Care Act 2014.
- Social care charging for local authorities: 2026 to 2027Department of Health and Social Care / GOV.UK
Current local authority charging circular, capital limits, PEA and related figures.
- National framework for NHS continuing healthcare and NHS-funded nursing careDepartment of Health and Social Care / GOV.UK
Official CHC and NHS-funded nursing care principles, process and assessment documents.
- NHS continuing healthcareNHS
Plain-English NHS public guidance on CHC.
- NHS-funded nursing careNHS
Plain-English NHS public guidance on funded nursing care.
- NHS Continuing HealthcareNHS England
NHS England guidance on CHC and integrated care boards.
- CHC and NHS-funded nursing care statisticsNHS England Digital
Official statistics for CHC and NHS-funded nursing care activity in England.
- Find care servicesCare Quality Commission
Care home, nursing home and care provider search with inspection ratings.
- Using CQC dataCare Quality Commission
CQC API and downloadable data for registered services and ratings.
- Older people with social care needs and multiple long-term conditionsNICE
Professional guidance on planning and delivering social care support.
- Social care statisticsOffice for National Statistics
Official social care data publications, including care homes.
- Complaints about health and social careLocal Government and Social Care Ombudsman
Official route for complaints involving adult social care and joint health/social care issues.
- Complaints about continuing healthcare fundingParliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Official route for complaints about NHS continuing healthcare funding.