What do YOU want to improve?

  • GP WON’T REFER ME... Sarah was suffering pain and not sleeping, it had been going on for years. Her GP did tests but could find nothing wrong. So she was dosing up on painkillers which were giving her side effects. Sarah admits she felt intimidated by her Dr and so she found it hard to describe her pain and the impact. It got so bad she thought she could go on living with the pain.

    Solution – we helped Sarah put in writing to her GP the justification and rationale he needed to understand and highlighted a specific specialist Sarah could see. He made the referral and she us now getting the help she needs.

  • HE WON’T ACCEPT HELP... Bill is 83, living in his own home, has moderate dementia and could get very stubborn. He was reliant on his daughter for so much help it was getting beyond her. He refused to have anyone else in the house and refused to apply for financial and other help. Claire didn’t know which way to turn and felt guilty for wanting a holiday or day off and her health was suffering, she had to give up her job.

    Solution – She really didn’t think it could be done - but in weeks changes were happening. We used our experience and were able to coach Sue to overcome the multiple barriers that Bill put in place. In weeks changes were happening, finances were sorted and Sue could enjoy life again. Bill’s health improved, the risks he faced had been reduced and Sue was planning for the future.

  • I CAN’T COPE ANYMORE… Leanne has a disabled daughter Amy age 17, with degenerative health problems herself, she was worried about the future care for Amy.

    Solution -We worked to understand Amy’s needs and firstly improved the help Leanne was getting at home. We initiated engagement with the right authorities to start the process of Amy living independently in the future. Leanne’s health improved, Amy gained new skills and is now living in her own apartment not far from her Mum and working part time.

  • THREE PADS FOR DAD IS NOT ENOUGH... Mary was only provide with three continence pads a day for her Mom, was paying over £80 a month from her pension to get extra.

    Solution – we challenged this provision level and got it doubled.

  • OVER 30 EXPENSIVE CALLS A DAY TO UNKNOWN NUMBERS… Mary loved to chat on the phone, but her dementia meant she was making dozens of costly wrong calls every day.

    Solution - we activated a little-known free system via BT to get rid of the bill and to prevent him from calling unknown numbers while still being safe and able to call family and friends.

  • LIVING COSTS TOO HIGH… single parent Jane is a Nurse and she cared for her autistic son Grant. Despite working she was finding life financially hard.

    Solution – we cut her rates, water bill, phone costs and helped her apply for benefits and grants.

  • REFUSED A POWERED WHEELCHAIR... Mark age 19yrs could only manage half days at College as his wheelchair was too heavy for him to wheel about all day, given his painful arm muscles. The authorities refused to give him a powered version.

    Solution – in 12 weeks Martin was powered up and ready to fulfil his potential, he is back doing full study days and will soon qualify as an accountant.

  • WE HAVE NOT HAD A HOLIDAY FROM CARING FOR THREE YEARS… The pressure of caring for Joe’s mom mean going on holiday was out of the question. They had to been around all the time, there was none else.

    Solution – we not only arranged for appropriate trusted care at low cost to the family, we helped Joe and his wife have 2 weeks’ rest at a beautiful seaside village, free of charge.

  • OXYGEN ENERGY COSTS TOO HIGH – Dave lived with his daughter and needed oxygen for his heath condition. The cost of energy crisis meant this was cripplingly them.

    Solution – we helped them claim back the cost used in oxygen and got them onto a priority register so if there was a power cut they would be given an emergency supply

  • I HAVE MY LIFE BACK... Claire was caring for her mum Vera and was exhausted as her mums mobility, incontinence and dementia worsened. But Vera refused to have outside help and social services could not intervene, as technically Vera still had sufficient mental capacity to make decisions. Claire was desperate when she came to ITKS. She used the tailored action plan.

    Solution - Within weeks our coaching for Claire meant Vera had agreed to have help,. Claire had used a letter we gave her to action her legal rights as a carer. Claire increased her own and her mom’s income, so she could reduce her hours at work and still do some but not all of the caring. We also improved the Continence care Vera was receiving and got her an assessment for equipment in the home so she was more mobile and able in the bathroom. Vera was quite happy and Claire said “I have my life back and Mum is so much better now. “Thank God we found you”.

  • WE DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU… Mark age 30 was told ‘ well it’s not epilepsy so we don’t know what it is”. He was off sick, living on statutory sick pay for 5 months and having dozens of episodes a day which could leave him injured. No work meant the mortgage was at risk and his family were frantic. Mark had become stuck in the NHS a system with no way forward. He turned to ITKS for help.

    Solution - Within weeks we had caused the NHS to refer him to a specialist neurological centre, we had engaged to get him an urgent appointment and he received the tests, diagnosis and treatment he needed. We also helped him claim a variety of benefits, supported him to go back to work and empowered him to ensure his care continued.

  • WHERE CAN WE GO?... When Alan’s 19 yr old son Jack took a fall and suffered a head injury they didn’t realise how their world would change. A serious concussion caused some paralysis and a difficult change in his sons behaviour, rages, anger and suicidal thoughts. Despite this they were told to ‘take him home’ - other then some physio there was nothing else to be done. Alan called us desperate to help his son.

    Solution - We found the best Consultant and clinic to help him improve and ‘persuaded’ the NHS to carry out the referral. Alan received pioneering help to improve his paralysis and specialist support and therapy to overcome the changes in his moods. We also introduced him to an organisation where they could speak to others in the same situation. Now, 18 months later Jack has a part time course at college training to be an accountant and is looking forward past those dark times when Alan thought the future was so bleak.

  • BLUE BADGE… Jack could drive himself about, but his mobility was poor. A Blue badge would make all the difference, but he didn’t use the internet and felt he couldn’t get one.

    Solution – we applied for the badge successfully and obtained a special card as he loved going to the cinema. Now he buys one ticket but can take a friend/carer free of charge. Once Jack got to know us he took our advice and we successfully applied for an attendance allowance for him this is helping him financially to keep enjoying life while he can.

  • WE CAN’T AFFORD THE COST OF A CARE HOME... Eve is 85, her family had cared for her for 15years doing a brilliant job but now her daughter and husband had illnesses themselves and carers visiting 3 times a day could no longer meet her needs. But social services wanted hundreds of pounds every week to fund her care in a nursing home.

    Solution – we supported her family to apply to a different pot of funding, which meant she didn’t lose her home and kept her pension.