Continuing care for children and young people

NHS Children and Young People's (CYP) Continuing Care is for babies, children, and young people (between 0 to 18-years-old). They may be eligible if existing universal, or specialist, services alone cannot meet their care needs. This is usually due to disability, accident, or illness.

Eligibility

The CYP Continuing Care team use a referral process and, if necessary, a full assessment.

A CYP Continuing Care Nurse must assess the child or young person. An independent panel of multidisciplinary professionals will use this assessment to determine eligibility. The CYP Continuing Care team will look at all the healthcare needs. They will think about how to best meet the child or young person's clinical need. 

Referral process

1. Parents or guardians give consent
2. A registered professional who knows the child or young person well will complete an initial checklist
3. The checklist is then sent to the CYP Continuing Care Team
4. After triage, the CYP Continuing Care team will tell the family/guardian and referrer either:  
   • That the child does not meet the criteria for a full assessment. This means they are not eligible for NHS CYP Continuing Care.
   • Or that they will refer the child or young person for a full assessment.

Full assessment

The full assessment looks at the individual's health needs under 10 different care domains. These are scored in accordance with the NHS National Framework. Read more about the National Framework for Children's Continuing Care.

The CYP Continuing Care Team will:

• Outline the panel decision to the referrer and family/guardian
• If the child or young person is eligible:
  • Liaise with family/guardian and professionals as required
  • Determine how best to meet the CYP's needs. For example, exploring home care, respite or additional equipment requirements
  • Provide information about what is available including the option of a personal health budget

Contact details

Norfolk and Waveney NHS CYP Continuing Care Team can be contacted on:

• Telephone: 01603 257260 (Direct line between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday) 
• Email: nwicb.cypcontinuingcare@nhs.net (Monitored 9am-5pm Monday to Friday) 

Norfolk support services for young adults

Other services offer support to young adults (from the age of 18) with continuing healthcare. View more about NHS continuing healthcare for adults. 

Transition planning 

The CYP Continuing Care Team work closely with relevant teams to ensure a young person is appropriately supported when reaching adulthood. To read more about transition from child to adult services, please see:

• Pages 105-108 of the National Framework for Continuing Healthcare for Adults
• And/or from page 21 of the National Framework for Children's Continuing Care