Brian O'Shea has now joined our Advice Line team to provide help to people applying for Continuing Healthcare funding.  Here he introduces himself and the service he will be providing:

I have been working in the field of Disability Equality and Independent Living for a number of years now.  For me Independent Living is not just about being able to do things for yourself, it is also about having the correct support in place so that you can spend your days focusing on doing what is important to you.  I believe that after housing having the correct level of care support is the most important thing in enabling someone with a spinal cord injury to live a full life in, and be part of the community.

Over the past couple of years, as the financial climate has worsened, accessing statutory sources of funding for care in the community has become more and more difficult.  This is nowhere more true than in the area of Continuing NHS Care Funding (Continuing Healthcare).  Despite national guidelines PCTs appear to have consistently raised the bar of eligibility For Continuing Healthcare Funding.  In addition to that there are increasing examples of PCTs withdrawing CHC funding from members on review without demonstrating that the person's care needs have changed.

Against this background I was delighted to take up the post of Continuing Healthcare Adviser last month.  My role will be to provide SIA members with specific information around CHC funding to help them prepare for either their initial assessment of eligibility or their review of existing funding.  This will help them to prepare properly and maximise their chances of getting/retaining funding.  Where someone has had health funding refused or withdrawn unjustifiably I will be available to work with them to challenge that decision.  However, the appeals process can be time consuming and complex, so the sooner I can become involved in the process the better (even if the review seems “routine” on the face of it).   Most of the support will be by telephone and e-mail.

I would also welcome the opportunity to work with healthcare professionals to improve access to CHC funding for people with high level SCI.

More information about this service can be found on the website under the Get Support tab.

Brian can be contacted via the Advice Line or by emailing b.oshea@spinal.co.uk