FNC UPDATE

Dear Residential Nursing Care Providers,

DHSC is currently in the process of setting the 2024-2025 rate for NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC).  This is being informed by a one-off cost collection exercise, run via Capacity Tracker. The survey is non-mandatory, but it would be great if as many providers as possible could complete it. The survey will be live from Wednesday 25 October and will be open for three weeks, closing midnight on Wednesday 15 November.

What is FNC?

Funding is provided by the NHS to residential nursing care providers to support the provision of nursing care. FNC can help manage pressure on acute hospitals and supports system flow by reducing avoidable admissions of individuals with complex discharge needs. It can also relieve pressure on NHS primary care services by enabling nursing care to be delivered within the individual’s residential home. DHSC sets the national FNC rate which dictates the amount the NHS pays care homes delivering FNC. This is paid per resident, per week. Given wider inflationary pressures, DHSC is now conducting a further one-off ‘cost collection exercise’ to ensure that the department has the most recent and accurate data available when calculating the national rate. You might recall that DHSC last did this in 2021.

What information is needed to complete the survey?

We would like to encourage as many providers as possible to complete this survey.  Although it is optional, a greater sample size will mean more reliable results.  When you complete the survey, please ensure that you have data on the number of residents by funding type and payroll information on both pay and hours worked by registered nurses for the two months of April 2023 and September 2023 (or your most recent completed payroll period) to hand.

You should be able to see a link to the survey when you log into Capacity Tracker. If you have any questions, please contact the DHSC FNC inbox at fnc@dhsc.gov.uk

We thank you in advance for your continued support and engagement.

DHSC