Is it an emergency?Some children and young people have very complex health needs.
These may be the result of:
- congenital conditions
- long-term or life-limiting conditions
- disability
- serious illness or injury.
We describe children and young people as those aged up to their 18th birthday. For information about continuing healthcare for adults, please visit our continuing healthcare page.
These needs may be so complex that they cannot be met by the services which are routinely available from GP practices, hospitals or in the community which are commissioned by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) or NHS England. A package of additional health support may be needed. This additional package of care is known as continuing care.
Which organisation is responsible?
Children registered with a GP in Suffolk
Continuing care for children with a Suffolk GP (excluding Lowestoft and Waveney) is managed by the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEE ICB) Children and Young People’s Quality Team, and information regarding how to access a continuing care health package is described below.
If your GP is in Lowestoft and Waveney please visit the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board website.
Children registered with a GP in north east Essex
Continuing care for children with a GP in north east Essex is managed by Mid and South East Essex Integrated Care System (MSE ICS). Details of continuing care for children and young people in north east Essex can be found on the MSE ICS website.
Learn more
Visit the Gov.uk website to learn more about children and young people’s continuing care :
- Children and young people’s continuing care: guide for young people and parents
- Children and Young Peoples Continuing Care National Framework
How can I access children and young people’s continuing care in Suffolk?
A referral can be made by any health or social care professional who feels a continuing care package may be required.
To make a referral, professionals should contact the Complex Care Nursing Team at suffolk.ccc@esneft.nhs.uk and request a referral form and pre-assessment continuing care checklist.
When a child or young person is referred for an assessment, the continuing care nurse assessors will first check if the person referred is likely to need a full assessment. If they do, the continuing care nurse assessors will collect evidence of the child’s needs, drawing on the advice of health and care professionals.
The Children and Young People’s Continuing Care National Framework provides guidance and a set of categories of needs to support decisions on whether a child has a continuing care need.
An important part of the assessment is to capture the preferences of the child or young person and their family.
The assessment will look at the current care being provided but a decision on whether a child or young person has a continuing care need is based on the nature of their needs, rather that the care available, or whether or not they have a particular condition.
Who decides and what happens next?
The continuing care nurse assessors will make a case to a panel of experts who decide based on the evidence and the recommendation whether the child or young person has a continuing care need.
A decision is usually made 6-8 weeks from referral.
Depending on the decision, a package of care is then agreed. Some of this care may be provided through existing services and some may need to be specially arranged.
SNEE ICB will keep the package of care under regular review to ensure the developing child or young person’s needs continue to be supported.
A child or young person’s eligibility for continuing care may change as their needs change.
If you are not happy with the decision made regarding eligibility or the package of care offered you can make a complaint via our Patient Advice and Liaison Service
What is a Personal Health Budget?
If a child or young person is eligible for continuing care, they will be offered a Personal Health Budget (PHB) to enable them to further personalise the way their funding is used to ensure that their care needs are met.
Our continuing care policies
- Children and Young People’s Continuing Care Policy
- Visit our Continuing Healthcare page to access the Policy for Personal Health Budgets (PHB) and Integrated Personal Budgets (IPB).