Our Client Liaison Manager (CLM) Becky Littlechild, who is a social worker by background, shares her thoughts on the impact the pandemic has had on the mental health of those who’ve experienced a serious injury.
John’s Story
As we reflect on the past year and consider the impact social isolation has had on us all, it’s not hard to imagine the added impact it’s had on those who are also dealing with a serious injury.
In July 2019, 65-year-old John was involved in a severe road traffic collision. He was hit by one of a group of three illegal street racers in Shirley, after they were speeding recklessly out of Birmingham city centre. He sustained a catalogue of life-changing injuries as a result, including severe brain and internal injuries and a crushed pelvis.
After six months of intensive rehabilitation, he was discharged in January 2020 and moved back to his flat, which was no longer suitable for him. He relied on a wheelchair, but his flat was on the first floor with no lift access. He found himself confined to his own home even before COVID-19 restrictions were implemented. This compounded the struggle he was already dealing with, of the psychological trauma he’d been through, and this had a negative impact on his mental health.
Before the pandemic broke out, John had been enjoying visits from friends, and phone calls from his family who lived further away. As time went by, the pandemic took hold and his contact with other people became severely limited. The twice daily visits from his care workers became shorter and more irregular, at a time when consistency and routine were really important to his recovery.
It was clear John needed support. Initially my role as CLM was to help John identify his priorities with the interim payment that was agreed. I had several phone calls with him, and he decided that his living situation needed attention, so we worked to identify a suitable rental property. His interim payment could be used to secure rent for a period of time, while he sold his flat.
We liaised with local estate agents to help him find a flat that would be suitable, and found something for him that was close to his current flat, on the ground floor. Getting John moved to a better property was critically important, for both his physical and mental wellbeing. If he had stayed where he was, he would have remained isolated from the world. John said he just wanted to be able to go to the front door and get some fresh air.
With his living situation significantly improved, John was able to start building up a network of rehabilitation specialists who could support his ongoing physical health needs. However, it’s important to recognise the impact injuries can have on mental health too, if the focus was only on John’s physical rehabilitation, key elements of support he needs would have been missed.
As a result of the injury, John’s mental health had been compromised. He had to learn to live with significant injuries, and the impact these had on his day-to-day life. Before the injury, he was active in his retirement: he enjoyed travelling, playing darts, attending his local football club’s games and scoring for a cricket team. For me as John’s CLM, the changes in his life mean I need to support him in adapting to his new circumstances. From his intensive rehabilitation, to changes to in his environment enabling him to access the outside world and the opportunities that come with it, and supporting John in managing the impact all of this has on his mental health and how he can start to build resilience.
While John has said he currently doesn’t feel comfortable or confident in leaving the house on his own, we hope with our support that this will change in time. He’s said he’s able to see “things are moving on”, now the people responsible for his injury have been sentenced and justice has been served. This has had significant impact for John, and he’s looking forward to building a team around him who can support him in getting his life back on track.
John has now appointed a case manager, and I will liaise with John and his new team to ensure that information is shared, and that they have an understanding of what actions have already been done to support John. This can then be built on to create better outcomes for John in his long-term rehabilitation goals.
More about our CLMs
Thank you to John for sharing his story and Becky Littlechild, who continues to support him on his journey.
Find out more about our CLM team.
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