Macmillan Welfare Rights Service ANNUAL REPORT 2012/2013

Transcription

1 Macmillan Welfare Rights Service ANNUAL REPORT 2012/2013 Guildford Citizens Advice Bureau Haydon Place Guildford Surrey GU1 4LL Tel:

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3 CONTENTS 1. Foreword 4 2. Aims of Service 5 3. What We Achieved 6 4. Where Do Our Clients Live 7 5. Case Study Cancer Profile 9 7. Enquiry Types Case Study Financial Outcomes Referrer Locations Client Feedback Cost of Service Promoting the Service Thank You Staff

4 FOREWORD What another fantastic year for the service and its users. Once again we have secured amazing financial outcomes of almost 1.5 million for our clients and continue to make a big difference in helping to reduce the stress that a drop in income can create, when someone is undergoing treatment after a cancer diagnosis. We continue to work closely with the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Frimley Park Hospital and The Beacon Community and Palliative care teams. We would like to thank the nurses and health professionals for being so supportive of our service and for going that extra mile for their patients. It has not been an easy year in terms of securing on-going funding for the service but we were successful with an application to Macmillan Cancer Support who has awarded funding for another year. We were also successful with an application to Guildford Borough Councils Voluntary Grants Panel which means that the service is secure until August This year we hope to engage further with the local Clinical Commissioning Groups to discuss how we move towards more long term funding for such an important service. This year we have also recruited two new members to our team and so we would like to welcome and introduce Amanda Southwood who is working as a volunteer caseworker 2 days per week and Doreen Mason who has come to help us with some administration duties. The Welfare Reform Act is upon us and we are already seeing the impact of these changes on our clients. This year will be a challenge for all advice services with the introduction of Universal Credit and the Personal Independence Payments but we will strive to continue to deliver the Gold Standard service that we set for ourselves. Emma Scanlon Team Leader - 4 -

5 AIMS OF THE SERVICE We aim to provide advice, information and advocacy to people affected by cancer in Guildford, Waverley and Surrey Heath. We also offer advice to clients living outside these 3 areas if they are terminally ill. The advice and assistance is free, independent, confidential, impartial and open to everyone regardless of race, sex, religion, disability, sexuality or nationality. By working with community organisations and health and social care professionals, we aim to inform those newly diagnosed with cancer about our service and how to access it. It is important that people are aware of their options and entitlement to welfare benefits from an early stage. This we hope will enable the patient to concentrate on their treatment rather than worrying about money problems. Knowing all options available may mean that someone is not going to be rushing back to work too soon after treatment and setting back their recovery. It has always been our aim to be able to expand the Macmillan Welfare Rights service, firstly to cover Woking and eventually to be able to offer a service throughout the whole of Surrey. We hope to fully engage with the new Clinical Commissioning Groups this year to be able to talk seriously about the future long term funding of the service. We aim to offer a holistic approach to our clients needs and with the help of our colleagues who specialise in housing, mental health and money advice, along with the 60 plus volunteer advisers, trained to Citizens Advice quality advice provision, we are able to expand much wider than advising on just welfare benefits. In this sense we are able to deal with a wide range of issues. We can also signpost our clients for counselling services, social services assessments, support groups and help to find appropriate services in their area

6 WHAT WE ACHIEVED The service is staffed with 2 part-time caseworkers, a part-time administrator and since January 2013 a part-time volunteer assists 2 days per week. The service operates from the Guildford Citizens Advice Bureau. The service is unique in that the Macmillan project can call on the specialist advisers who work alongside us in the Bureau. This means for example that although a client can present initially with a need for benefit advice they can then be helped with other issues that arise such as an outstanding utility debt or a problem landlord. We have specialist advisers in housing, money advice and mental health issues. It has been invaluable to us to be able to refer more in depth cases to these specialists who have helped with homelessness, re-housing, energy grants and bankruptcies. 530 were helped during the year (a 23% INCREASE OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR) TOTAL during FINANCIAL the year. GAIN FOR OUR CLIENTS THIS YEAR WAS 1,454,800 (* of the total, 76 clients were subsequently referred on to other services, in the main to the Hampshire Macmillan service) 487* clients plus their families and carers were helped The casework involved in helping our clients comprised of 4219 contacts which consisted of: 2371 direct client contacts 1848 contacts with third parties such as health Professionals, Local Authorities, The Department of Work & Pensions and charities etc. Financial outcomes for clients 1,478,

7 WHERE OUR CLIENTS LIVE The service is currently funded to help clients living in Guildford, Waverley & Surrey Heath. Hampshire Surrey Heath West Sussex East Sussex Kent Waverley Middlesex Berks Number Greater London Other Guildford Surrey Guildford Surrey Waverley Surrey Heath Hampshire Kent East Sussex West Sussex Berks Middlesex Greater London Our 3 main referral areas account for 65.3 % of the clients we have helped, but a significant proportion of clients we help, 35.2%, live out of area. For those people living in Hampshire we are able to refer them to the Macmillan service based in the Citizens Advice Bureau, Yateley. For the remainder of clients, our approach is as follows: We help all clients who are terminally ill and have a DS1500 (supporting medical evidence for those who are likely to die within 6 months) which automatically means that they qualify for the highest rate of benefit whether it be Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance. All other clients are provided with the main Macmillan helpline number ( ) or clients are advised that they can approach their local Citizens Advice Bureau

8 Case Study The client was referred in January He was a self-employed carpenter with a wife and two children, aged 8 and 2. When we first advised the family, he had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer but had a good prognosis and it seemed likely he would be fully recovered within a year and ready to restart his carpentry business. His wife had a part time job working 20 hours a week, earning around 1000 a month gross. We advised him to claim Contribution Based ESA, and for the family to put in a claim for Working and Child Tax Credits. As the husband counted as incapacitated for Working Tax Credit purposes, his wife worked enough qualifying hours to qualify. They received full Child Tax Credit of and Working Tax Credit of 77.16, consisting of the child care element. They also qualified for full Council Tax Benefit of per week. In early October 2012 the family were referred to us again. The treatment had not been successful and the husband was now under palliative care. We helped him claim Disability Living Allowance of per week. We also worked out that the client s wife was entitled to Carer s Allowance of per week, as the rules state that someone can earn up to 100 after deduction of tax and National Insurance, half her pension contribution and 70% of childcare costs. The client s wife had earnings of approximately 60 after these deductions, which is well under the 'earnings limit' of 100 used to define gainful employment. We also signposted the clients to the Jigsaw service which offers counselling to children with a parent with a life-limiting illness. Late in November the client s wife called and asked if a lump sum pay-out from his pension (of 33,000) would be counted as income for benefits purposes. We were able to check that this would not be the case and reassured the family they would not be penalised for taking the lump sum. Sadly the client died at the end of February We then did an up to date Benefit Check for his widow. We advised her to claim the Bereavement Payment of 2,000 and Widowed Parents Allowance amounting to per week

9 PROFILE BY CANCER TYPE Our clients were affected by a variety of cancers with breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers being the most prevalent. This reflects the national trend - these cancers account for over half (54%) of all new cases being diagnosed in the UK. Source: Cancer Research UK statistics Not the patient Not cancer Not known Urinary tract/bladder Thyroid & other endocrine Skin/melanoma Renal Prostate Ovarian Non Hodgkins Lymphoma Mesothelial & soft tissue Male genital Lung Liver/spleen Lip/oral cavity: Head & neck Female genital: Digestive: Colorectal: Breast

10 CLIENT ENQUIRIES BY TYPE The service specialises in providing welfare benefits advice. Our clients do not have the specialist knowledge to be able to navigate their way through the complicated benefits system and they find it particularly hard to do so at a time when they are unwell. Some of our clients present with a variety of other issues such as housing and debt problems and we are also able to help our clients with these problems by referring them on to the other specialist advisers within Guildford Citizens Advice Bureau. As a family that had never had to claim benefits before, the Macmillan Welfare Adviser made it so much easier for us and was really helpful. As illustrated below, welfare benefit advice is the main area we help clients with. This is followed by travel where, we help clients to apply for a Blue Badge for their cars from Surrey County Council. This scheme allows drivers or passengers with severe mobility problems to park close to where they want to go. Employment Relationships Debt Housing Other Health Travel Education Tax Immigration Financial Utillities Legal Benefits Travel Health Other Housing Employment Benefits Debt Relationships Tax Education Immigration Financial

11 Case Study An elderly couple was referred to our service after the wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. Their clinical nurse specialist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital was able to discuss any other issues that were concerning the family and it was then that their daughter said she was concerned about her parent s financial situation, but did not feel that she was able to talk to her parents about this. We made contact with the family and were able to establish that although her father (in his mid 70 s) was not in good health himself, he had still been working part time to keep on top of the bills, but had to stop when his wife needed full time care. Their joint income consisted of per week. They owned their own mobile home but were still paying full council tax and ground rent. The minimum the couple should have been living on by government figures is per week so they were already missing out on a minimum of every week via pension credit. It is possible that they had been entitled to welfare benefits for many years. We completed a full benefit check and worked with their daughter in making claims. This was a very satisfying case to deal with, as the clients income was so low they were entitled to a lot of help which we hope would enable the husband to give up work completely and they would also have to worry less about bills. In one phone call and a follow up letter we were able to gain: Attendance Allowance Pension Credit Council Tax Benefit Housing Benefit This equated to a weekly increase in income of and annually 12, We were able to achieve this by the nurse asking the right questions and then having a direct service to refer the clients to. FINANCIAL GAINS FOR OUR CLIENTS

12 THE TOTAL FINANCIAL GAIN FOR OUR CLIENTS THIS YEAR WAS 1,478, This figure comprises ongoing benefit awards plus charitable grants and refunds and rebates. BENEFIT BREAKDOWN ( ) Disability Living Allowance-care 328,093 Disability Living Allowance-mobility 212,719 Attendance Allowance 395,370 Carers Allowance 53,638 Employment & Support Allowance 235,789 Pension Credit 70,721 Income Support 24,791 Housing Benefit 25,295 Council Tax benefit 37,959 Macmillan grant 4,258 Job Seekers Allowance 3,692 Working & Child Tax Credits 35,836 Bereavement benefits 26,701 Employment pay, sick pay 4,464 NHS Low Income Scheme 100 Blue badge 17,500 Social fund funeral payments 1,289 Winter fuel payments 200 School meals 380 TOTAL 1,478,795 This figure equates to an average financial gain(*) for each client of 3,598 *financial gain calculated on actual clients ie.411 clients rather than total number of clients who approached the service

13 REFERRER LOCATIONS Our referrals come from 4 main sources. The main referrer is The Beacon Centre in Guildford which houses the Macmillan Community and Palliative services. Self-referrals either directly from the client or via a friend or relative are the second largest referral type. OUR MAIN REFERRERS One of our regular referrers from The Beacon Centre summed up the way in which the service has helped her patients: Macmillan CAB is a valuable service. It offers our patients a responsive service that ensures they receive the benefits they deserve

14 CLIENT FEEDBACK Every month we send out a short survey to those clients that we have helped. It is usually sent out 6 months after the client initially made contact when most of the casework would have been completed for the client. It gives clients the opportunity to record their experiences of the service. The annualised results from these surveys are very favourable as shown below: 95 % of respondents felt that the adviser understood either very well/well enough how their health issues affected their life and financial situation 93 % of respondents felt either very confident/ some confidence about being able to deal with their financial situation 93% of respondents were either very happy or fairly happy with the service they received It was a huge relief to have my claim handled for me by your advisers. This meant that I did not have to complete the long winded Disability Living Allowance claim form myself. I also received advice about my claim for Employment & Support Allowance following my retirement which was helpful. Client feedback The Guildford CAB (Macmillan) is a crucial part of our team and offers a fantastic service to patients and families. Referrer feedback

15 COST OF THE SERVICE The service is efficient and streamlined to accommodate as many referrals as possible and is very cost-effective. The annual running costs for 2012/2013 amounted to 59,510 which equates to an average cost per client of 122. This pays for 3 paid staff and 2 volunteers as well as office costs. The service cost 59,510 and the total financial gain was 1,478,795 for 411 clients. For each 1 of funding the service generates The service was funded solely by Macmillan Cancer Support through a successful funding application. We have been successful in applications to Macmillan Cancer Support and Guildford Borough Councils Voluntary Grants Panel and have been awarded funding to cover the service until at least March

16 PROMOTING THE SERVICE Various talks and meetings have been held throughout the year to help publicise the service RSCH - Brain Tumour Support Group talk Met with the new Macmillan Gynaecology & Lung Cancer nurses to talk about how the service can help their patients The Fountain Centre Information day Frimley Park Hospital - Benefit talk at support group for Breast Cancer sufferers Moving-on welfare benefits talk to Breast Cancer support group Met with Jigsaw (South East), a Surrey-wide service for children and young people aged 0-19 years, who have a family member with a life-limiting condition. They offer counselling and support services Ashford & St Peter s Hospital & Woking Hospice Meeting to explore partnership working and extension of service Service review held by Macmillan Cancer Support Guildford & Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group meetings FUTURE PLANS To continue to work closely with all of our referrers and partner agencies to make sure that those who need our service have access to it and to secure long term funding for the service. Continue to look at how we can extend our service throughout Surrey. To work in line with local authorities to enhance end of life care and in promoting a Good Death

17 THANK YOU Thanks are due to many people for their on-going support for the project. Macmillan Cancer Support for continuing to support and fund the service. We could not have continued without you. The Steering Group for those who take time to ensure that the service is the best it can be. The staff at The Beacon Centre, Royal Surrey County Hospital and Frimley Park Hospital who work very closely with us to provide this service and those healthcare workers who are based in the community. Guildford CAB management team and the Trustee Board. Mary Laker for her excellent chairing skills at the steering group meetings, thank you and happy retirement. Cynthia for her voluntary casework. Guildford Borough Council Voluntary Grants Panel for awarding us 31,700 to continue the service. Thank you for all the personal donations made to the service by our clients. The service received helped me to get a light through this difficult time. My adviser was very helpful and kind to guide me towards my rights. Please carry on helping people like me. Thanks for the time, support and collaboration received. Client feedback

18 STAFF MEMBERS The service is headed up by Emma Scanlon, Team Leader. She is supported by Shelley Grainger, Welfare Rights Adviser (part-time) Sara Kealey, Administrator (part-time), Amanda Southwood (part-time volunteer) and Doreen Mason (volunteer administrator) Emma Shelley Sara You do such an important job that helps so many cancer patients and their families and all the Clinical Nurse Specialists value your help and advice. Referrer feedback

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20 If you would like to find out more about the service or make a referral please contact us at: Macmillan Welfare Rights Service Guildford Citizens Advice Bureau Haydon Place Guildford Surrey GU1 4LL Tel: Fax: macmillan@guildfordcab.org.uk