Berkshire CCGs apologise for Continuing Health Care hold-ups

Board papers for June said the hold ups were due to staffing issues.

The papers said: “The current situation means that it is taking six months for new claims to be considered eligible for assessment.

“We are urgently looking at this process to identify how efficiency could be improved so that claims are assessed more quickly so that patients and their families are given more timely responses to their claims.

“This is clearly frustrating and worrying for those waiting to hear about their eligibility. We are writing to all those who have requested an assessment to explain what is happening and to try to provide an estimate of when the assessment will take place.”

It had been expected that a primary care trust legacy team would have managed retrospective claims. However, it became clear in March 2013 that this would not be possible due to the volume of claims.

“The CCGs across Berkshire have been working together on this issue and agreed to establish a team to manage the claims and the assessments.

“It has taken longer than anticipated to establish the team… there is a need to recruit more staff to ensure the assessments can be completed in a timely manner,” the board papers said.