The impact of coronavirus on NHS Continuing Healthcare

During this worrying and unprecedented time, all of us at Beacon are doing our utmost to carry on supporting, informing and advising our callers and clients as they go through the Continuing Healthcare system. The nature of COVID-19 (coronavirus) makes it particularly concerning for people already in poor health, and their families, who we work with everyday.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 – emergency legislation that included measures to protect and support the NHS frontline – enacted significant changes to the way that new or enhanced care packages are funded during the emergency period. It has significantly, but temporarily, changed the way the NHS Continuing Healthcare system operates. We have detailed all the changes, and provided advice for individuals and CCGs navigating the new practices, in our COVID-19 webpages.

Beacon casework

Beacon remains fully operational during the emergency period.

From Tuesday 17 March, all members of staff at Beacon began working from home.

We will be cancelling face-to-face meetings during this isolation period, in favour of phone or video conferencing. All of our caseworkers have the technology necessary to host and participate in audio or video meetings from home, and can work with electronic evidence such as scans of hard copy care records.

If your caseworker becomes unwell, we will endeavour to ensure that important or deadline-specific work is managed by a colleague.

Information and Advice Service

Unless several of our advisors are unwell at any one time, we are striving to avoid any significant disruption to the Information and Advice Service. The phoneline will be redirected to our advisors’ workstations at home. Voicemails and call backs should work as normal and the helpline number remains the same: 0345 548 0300.

More information

For the latest information on coronavirus and the government response, visit nhs.uk/coronavirus

If you are worried about managing at home or being isolated during this time, please visit Age UK or call The Silver Line, a helpline for older people, on 0800 4 70 80 90