Member Article

Ex-nurse leads booming Wolverhampton business advising law firms

Demand is booming for the services of a fast-growing Wolverhampton business which helps to inform law firms about healthcare funding options for elderly clients.

Health Advocacy UK was launched in 2014 by ex-nurse Lyn Buckley and has already supported more than 500 families by making care arrangements for elderly relatives diagnosed with long-term conditions such as Vascular Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

The company offers its services nationally as well as locally in the West Midlands and Staffordshire and is on track for doubling the number of families it supports to 1,000 by the end of 2016.

The business currently employs four full-time staff from its head office in Wolverhampton and also has a growing freelance network of twenty-five nurses and social workers who meet and advise families and law firms all over the country.

Law firms refer clients to the business when issues of care home fees are raised during consultations with their clients whilst dealing with Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney.

Lyn Buckley, director of Health Advocacy UK, said:

“There is rising demand from law firms for help with the process of arranging care for their clients. It is my experience that law firms often require assistance regarding the complexity of the Continuing Healthcare applications as this is a clinical and not a legal process.

“Nonetheless solicitors are often asked for assistance by their clients in relation to health funding. We ensure our legal colleagues are fully informed of the processes and the likelihood of positive outcomes, which in turn prevents their clients from making decisions that aren’t necessarily in the best interests of their relative or the financial interests of the family.

“Another example of where we are effective is where families are told their relative needs to go into a care home setting when in fact, if their needs are more manageable, they may be able to stay at home with family support and a comprehensive care package.

“Often legal firms who specialise in services for the elderly only come into contact with clients or their families when there is a requirement for the completion of Wills and Power of Attorney. The solicitor then does not have any further involvement until dealing with Probate.

“Health Advocacy UK also specialises in assisting law firms with advice and support for clients who may be suffering from dementia, or who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

“In the case of care funding, often monies wrongly spent on care home fees can be recovered if patients meet strict eligibility criteria under the NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding scheme and Health Advocacy UK helps law firms undertake this niche type of legal work.

“As advocates we are independent of Social Services and the NHS, and our role is to make sure the correct procedures are followed by the authorities and the views of the family are fully considered.

“Our business is growing rapidly through word of mouth and our partnerships with and referrals from law firms are growing. We plan to double the number of families we help by the end of 2016 to more than a thousand, and we are already on track to meet this aspiration.

“We have recently recruited a number of new staff staff and plan on expanding our network of freelancers who are all experienced nurses, social workers or healthcare professionals.

“Our services are based on a menu of fixed fees. Clients choose which service they need and they know right from the outset what the cost will be at a time when financial considerations are most important for families. Our fixed price Continuing Healthcare Training package has been extremely popular with lawyers and we continue to deliver this course to firms across England and Wales.”

As well as working with law firms, the business also carries out clinical report writing for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in the NHS, Social Care Professionals and directly families making retrospective claims.

Lyn Buckley is also an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate, representing adults who lack capacity to make their own decisions.

Health Advocacy UK have been recognised as experts in the provision of advocacy for the elderly and have recently been approached by Advocacy providers in the USA to deliver training for their advocates.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Zoe Lukic .