Helping Lisa

What was the person’s situation before working with Advocacy Focus?

Lisa* was in a car accident which left her with an acquired brain injury and needing a wheelchair. She wears a spinal jacket 23 hours a day, as well as splints on both arms.

Lisa was struggling to take care of herself at home but loved living at home and had been there for almost 20 years. Her council house property was in need of adjustments but she felt as though her social worker wasn’t listening to her. Lisa felt the professionals in her life didn’t understand how much she struggled day to day what level of care she needed.

Lisa has full mental capacity and expressed she wanted to remain living in her home with a better package of care that was more suited for her needs.

How did we help?

Lisa wanted support from our Advocate to request a new social worker; Lisa’s request was granted and a new social worker was allocated. The social worker listened to Lisa and the advocate and was extremely empathetic towards her situation and immediately started a social care assessment.

When completing the assessment, it triggered the need for a CHC assessment, which would decide if Lisa needed a fully funded package of care at home, which is usually given to people with significant health needs. This care is arranged and completely funded by the NHS, however there is a strict assessment process to identify the people who need this service.

Our Advocate supported Lisa through this process, including weekly meetings, ensuring that she was involved at every stage and that her views and wishes were communicated and respected. As a result, adjustments to her home were also explored.

What was the outcome?

Lisa was rewarded full continuing health care funding, not only this, her funding was backdated by 10 months. This was due to the fact that Lisa should have been receiving this funding for a long time before but had unfortunately slipped through the net.

Lisa’s home was assessed by the council and fire services and adaptions were made to maximise her independence and make it a more safe and accessible environment for her.

Why was advocacy support so effective?

Without advocacy, Lisa may not have received her CHC funding, or may have received it much later than she needed. Lisa appreciated having someone that she felt was on her side and there to support her during meetings.

Lisa is now more able to get around her own home and has become much more independent. She was originally apprehensive of professionals after feeling she had been let down, but we have helped her to trust new people and she now finds that her new social workers are very attentive to her needs.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people we support