A Case Manager is an integral piece of the rehabilitation puzzle

Biograpy:

David is a partner and Head of Court of Protection at CFG Law and has a wealth of experience helping people with all aspects of Court of Protection, lasting powers of attorney and Personal Injury Trusts. 

David has helped hundreds of people and their families who have lost capacity to manage their property and financial affairs as a professional deputy. In his role, David regularly liaises with Case Managers to ensure the best input for his clients and their families so that they achieve their best possible outcomes.

A Case Manager is for life not just for Christmas!

Now of course, I’m not suggesting for one moment that Case Managers are all puppies, (sometimes far from it in my experience), nor am I suggesting that a Case Manager should be employed indefinitely, but I am often asked why do I need a Case Manager? And usually, shortly after any claim for damages has settled, can we get rid of the Case Manager now?

In my opinion, such questions stem from a lack of understanding as to the important role Case Manager’s undertake, as well as a misconception that they are appointed purely for the purposes of maximising any claim for personal injury damages. Interestingly, a similar misconception exists in the role of a professional Deputy for property and affairs and that management of someone’s finances is also only confined to any compensation they receive, whereas it obviously extends far wider than that and includes everything they have, whatever it is.

My response when I am asked to terminate the appointment of a Case Manager, is generally to sit down with the client and their family and try to reiterate the important role Case Managers play in identifying needs from a health, care, social, educational and employment perspective, coordinating services to meet those needs, facilitating an effective multi-disciplinary team of other healthcare professionals and providing independent support.

From my perspective however, perhaps the most important role of a Case Manager is being the eyes and ears on the ground, often sniffing out problems (if you’ll pardon the continued dog analogy) before they escalate and providing a much needed foil in the difficult 2 Helping those affected by injury - together decisions I sometimes have to make in the long-term management of a person’s affairs.

Now choosing the right Case Manager (or a professional Deputy come to think of it) is very much like choosing a puppy. You want to make sure they have the right pedigree, that they have a good temperament, and that they will be there for you when you need them most. That doesn’t mean to say that they will be a lap dog though, you want your Case Manager to be able to challenge you and those around you for that matter, to promote independence (not reliance) and most all fight for your rights.

Absent a Case Manager, clients and their families often find themselves in crisis and more times than I care to remember over the years, I have found myself parachuting a Case Manager into the fray (imagine that…a dog wearing a parachute!) to resolve matters of welfare that far exceed my remit as property and affairs Deputy.

Ultimately, I am very much of the opinion that a Case Manager is an integral piece of the rehabilitation puzzle and an absolute MUST! Just like a puppy! If you’d like to find out more about CFG Law and its Court of Protection and professional deputy service, please visit https://www.cfglaw.co.uk/court-of-protection

Posted on July 19th 2021

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