Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cheselden a charity?
No. Cheselden is registered as a limited company in the UK. We are not
a non-profit organisation, but we aim to avoid wasting both NHS’s and
your time and resources by only taking on claims where we are confident
that the patient should qualify, or should have qualified, for funding.
We try to avoid unnecessary legal fees and operate on a “no win, no
charge” basis.
Is Cheselden a solicitor or another type of legal company?
No. We aim to avoid having to take legal action wherever possible.
However, for those cases where legal action is necessary, we have
teamed up with some of the UK’s leading law firms to help us.
What is NHS Continuing Healthcare?
See our page about NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Who is eligible for continuing healthcare?
See our page about NHS Continuing Healthcare.
How long will it take?
It depends on various factors, but we aim to complete our
proceedings as soon as possible. The sooner you start working with us,
the more chance there is of making a successful claim.
How much will it cost? What are your fees?
Cheselden operates under a “no win, no charge”. That means it won’t
cost you anything if you don’t win the case. We fund our operations
from part of the repayments made by the NHS for retrospective funding.
Any future funding provided from the NHS to you does not form part of
our agreement, even if they start to pay you based upon the result of
our work.
Is it still possible to claim even if the patient has died?
Yes.
Will my case go legal?
Hopefully not. We try to avoid court proceedings as much as possible,
but if the NHS refuses to pay for funding which we believe should be
fully justified within a reasonable time, we will not hesitate to take
legal action. We have teamed up with some of the UK’s leading law firms
to help us do that in the best way possible.
Can I act on behalf of a relative or friend?
Yes.
How can I find out if I have a valid case?
In the first instance, please contact Cheselden for a free initial
consultation. You can complete a simple questionnaire about your care
history and submit it to us online or you can telephone us and we will
send you a questionnaire by post. For the full claims process, see the
“The Process” section.
How can I get back money that shouldn’t have been paid?
The first thing to do is to give us a call. If
Cheselden decides that you have a valid case for current or
retrospective funding, we will contact your PCT in the first instance
and ask them to review your case. If the PCT does not co-operate,
Cheselden will arrange for legal action to be taken on your behalf to
recover the costs that you have wrongly paid.
What if the house has been sold to pay for care costs?
Sadly, this situation is all too common in cases of continuing care
funding that has been wrongly denied. If we take your case to court, we
cannot get your house back for you, but we can try to recover the care
costs that you have paid from the proceeds of the sale, plus back-dated
interest, so that financially-speaking, you are no worse off than if
you had not sold the house. We can also try to obtain further
compensation or damages in respect of the distress caused by having to
sell the family home.
What if I lack the capacity to make decisions or deal directly with
Cheselden myself?
In these situations, you must have a representative who is legally
authorized to make decisions and give consent on your behalf, e.g. to
enable us to access your medical records. Cheselden will need to see
proof of this legal authorization in the form of a Lasting or Enduring
Power of Attorney, a Proof of Court of Protection or Receivership.
How do I know I have the correct authority to act on behalf of someone?
Contact The Office of the Public Guardian – Archway Tower, 2 Junction
Road, London N19 5SZ Phone Number: 0845 330 2900 – Phone lines are open
from 9am – 5pm Fax Number: 020 7664 7551
What if the patient in question is deceased?
Provided that we can still access the patient’s medical records and
other necessary files, Cheselden can review the patient’s case and
proceed with a claim if we consider the case to be valid. But time is
of the essence, as after a patient’s death medical records will only be
kept for a limited time before being destroyed. Also, we do not take on
any case where a patient or their family has been aware for 6 or more
years that they could apply to have their funding situation reviewed.
If we take on a deceased patient’s case, we will need to see the Grant
of Probate or Letter of Administration document that entitles the
claimant to administer the patient’s estate to enable us to start the
claims process.
What if I have already approached my local PCT about my case for
funding?
If your PCT has refused to review your case or has reviewed it and
turned down your request for funding, Cheselden can review your case
straightaway. If you are still waiting for an answer from your PCT
about your funding decision, you should wait to receive this before
contacting us.
Is there a time limit on claims?
Yes. The longer you or a relative has been paying for care, the more
urgent it is that you make a claim for funding if you think you may be
eligible. The 6 year rule Cheselden does not take on any case where you
or your family has been aware for 6 or more years that you could apply
to have your funding situation reviewed. By “aware”, we mean that there
is proof that your PCT sent you a letter stating that your case is
eligible for review – even if you did not receive the letter. If this
applies to you, then you can still pursue your case privately via your
PCT – click here for a list of PCTs and their contact numbers.
Cheselden can still provide you with information, so please feel free
to contact us.If you have never received such a letter and there is no
proof that one was ever sent, the 6 year period begins from the time
that you become aware that you can ask for a review. If you have
recently become aware of this, Cheselden will be happy to review your
case.Cases pre-dating April 2004It has become more difficult to help
with cases involving an eligibility decision made before April 2004 (or
which involve a period of time mainly before April 2004). This is
because the NHS asked PCTs to stop reviewing these cases after 30
November 2007, unless there are exceptional circumstances as to why the
case has not come to light before. However, this is an arbitrary
deadline with no legal effect. So, even if your case pre-dates April
2004, Cheselden will probably still be able to help you – contact us
without delay to find out. Please be prepared to give a valid reason as
to why you have not asked for your case to be reviewed before now.’Even
so, if your case pre-dates April 2004, Cheselden will probably still be
able to help you – contact us without delay to find out. Please be
prepared to give a valid reason as to why you have not asked for your
case to be reviewed before now.Claims relating to care home residents
who died before April 1996It is not possible for Cheselden or a PCT to
investigate any case where a care home resident died before April 1996.
This is the date when formal, written eligibility criteria for
continuing care funding first became operative.
Can I claim for maladministration?
Maladministration in continuing care cases occurs where a PCT or Health
Authority has either:Refused a patient continuing care funding
following an assessment using local eligibility criteria that were
unlawful, or which were not applied lawfully, orNot reviewed a
patient’s case to check if they are eligible for funding when asked to
do so by the Department of Health, orNot set up an appeal panel to
review a patient’s eligibility for funding when they have been asked to
do so and where there is no good reason why the panel was not set up.If
you have a valid case for claiming or reclaiming costs for continuing
care funding, Cheselden will take into account any instances of
maladministration as part of the claims process. You may receive
additional compensation for maladministration on top of any repayment
of care costs.However, even if you DON’T have a valid case for claiming
or reclaiming care costs, you may still feel you have suffered due to
maladministration. If this applies to you, Cheselden cannot take on
your case as we only deal with funding-related claims. Your best course
of action is to contact the Health Commissioner or the Health Services
Ombudsman to see if they will help. You should note that if any
financial compensation results from your complaint, the amount will
probably be low.
If I make a claim for funding, how will my current care be affected?
Will I lose my care home place?
Any action that Cheselden takes on your behalf will not detrimentally
affect the level of care that you receive. Your care home cannot revoke
your place just because you have asked us to handle your case for
funding. However, if you are awarded NHS Continuing Healthcare funding,
you need to be aware that the NHS will decide where you receive care.
You may be asked to relocate to a different care home, although your
PCT should take your wishes into account and assess whether a move
would pose a risk to your health before relocating you.
Why do you need to send off for my medical records?
We need to build a full picture of your medical condition to enable us
to determine if you have a valid case for continuing care funding. Your
medical records are central to this process. We will not disclose any
of the information in your records to a third party (except any
solicitor appointed to your case) without your express permission, so
there is no cause for worry.
Who will review my case for eligibility for funding?
Your case will be reviewed by at least one qualified expert who is
experienced in continuing care and has a wealth of experience of the
assessment and review process.
What costs are involved?
There is no cost to you or your family for using our services.
Cheselden will not charge you for reviewing your case, liaising with
the PCT or for any legal fees if your case goes to court. Cheselden
will fund all fees and third party costs (disbursements) until the case
has been resolved. When the case is successful, either before or after
it goes to court, Cheselden’s costs are covered by a pre-arranged
agreement with you or your family. If a case is unsuccessful, we will
not charge for fees or costs – so there is no risk or expense to you or
your family in the unlikely event that your case does not succeed.
What if the PCT agrees to pay before the case reaches court?
Ideally, the PCT will agree to pay for current and / or retrospective
continuing care funding and court proceedings will not be required. If
this happens to you, the case is deemed to be successful. You won’t
need to pay any fees or costs that may have accrued. Instead, you will
pay Cheselden a pre-arranged percentage of the compensation that you
receive from the PCT to cover our costs.
Who will handle my case if it can’t be resolved with the PCT?
Cheselden will do everything in our power to settle your case before it
has to go to court, with the joint aims of preventing unnecessary cost
and use of PCT resources and of minimizing stress to you and your
family. However, if the PCT refuses to agree a settlement, we will not
hesitate to take the case to court. If this happens, court proceedings
will be handled by a leading law firm with experience in continuing
care cases.
What help can I get if I don’t have a case?
Cheselden will still help you even if we conclude that you don’t have a
case for current or retrospective continuing care funding. We can offer
you advice on how to minimize the costs that you pay for care, e.g. by
ensuring that you claim all the state benefits that you are entitled
to. Or there may be other types of funded care that you may qualify
for.For more information, please read our factsheets:¦NHS-funded
Nursing Care¦Other types of care & who pays¦Care homes fact
sheet¦State benefits – your entitlementand / or contact us.
What alternatives are there to Cheselden’s services?
We believe that there are no realistic alternatives to what we can
offer. The combination of lack of risk, transparency of assistance and
full service provision is, we believe, unique.Other companies do exist
who can help. However, they do not provide the breadth of service that
Cheselden offers and often focus on “funding solutions” such as equity
release loans rather than seeking restitution for monies that have been
wrongly paid for care costs. And other firms that do offer legal
services normally charge an upfront fee before they will help.Cheselden
is different – we only charge our clients if their case wins and then
only by means of a proportion of the compensation or damages. There is
no risk to our clients and no fees for them to pay.A patient or their
family can of course try to pursue their funding claim privately,
through their local PCT’s review process. But this can take many
months, if not years, to resolve and can be extremely stressful. Rather
than put yourself or your relatives through this ordeal, let Cheselden
deal with your case on your behalf.
What other services does Cheselden offer?
None. We take on continuing care funding cases only so we are
specialists in our field.
What happens next?
See our information on the Claims Process for more information.