NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), a fully funded care package for those with a primary health need, can often act as a lifeline to unpaid carers, relieving the costs of social care provision and, if done sufficiently well, allowing them time for breaks. 

Despite this, carers are facing numerous barriers when accessing NHS Continuing Healthcare for the person they care for. Recent trends show there is a widespread lack of awareness of CHC and that eligibility is falling, with wide variation across different regions, leading to a postcode lottery for the people needing care and carers.   

Carers are also experiencing significant delays waiting for eligibility decisions for the people they care for and those who are found eligible often live in fear of having this crucial support taken away. 

This briefing explores these issues in greater depth, utilising experiences of carers from Carers UK’s State of Caring 2025 survey and recent findings from other sources. It lists a series of recommendations for change.