Each year we nominate a ‘Charity of the Year’.
The chosen charity benefits from the proceeds of our 12-month program of fundraising and we reward these efforts with our donation matching program which sees us matching or rounding up any fundraising undertaken by members of staff. (Read more about our CSR policy)
The chosen charity will always be relevant to the work we undertake and the conditions that affect our clients, e.g. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Marie Curie, MND.
This year our chosen charity is Alzheimer’s Society and our first fundraising event is taking place on April 25th when we will host a quiz night in North Devon. We are donating £250 to the event with a first prize of £125 prize money for the winning quiz team and an additional £125 worth of raffle prizes whilst 100% of proceeds from ticket sales and the raffle will be going directly to Alzheimer’s Society on the night.
With offices in the South West, Compass CHC have taken the decision to support Alzheimer’s Society who pride themselves that all funds raised in Devon and Cornwall stay in Devon and Cornwall. The charity, the UK’s leading dementia charity, works tirelessly to find new treatments and, ultimately, a cure for dementia. It is predicted that by 2021, 1 million people will be living with the condition whilst in the UK alone, more than 850,000 people are currently living with dementia.
As a company, Compass CHC speak daily with families affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia so the work of Alzheimer’s Society both locally and nationally is something Managing Director Tim Davies is keen to promote.
Tim Davies explains, “we try to support local good causes as much as possible. Individuals inform us daily how Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia have affected the lives of their families and how devastating the impact can be on everyone involved. When choosing our charity of the Year for 2017 we thought long and hard about which organisation to support and the work of Alzheimer’s Society struck us as being particularly valuable given our interaction with so many clients affected by this disease.
At Compass CHC, we generally work with clients and their families in the advanced stages of dementia as it is often the case that symptoms of this progressive disease will start to become severe enough to trigger a continuing healthcare assessment and referral. However, it is not always the case that a dementia diagnosis will automatically entitle an individual to funding. When someone is living with dementia, their needs will change over time as their condition progresses.
We will assist individuals with their NHS continuing healthcare funding applications if we feel their need for care qualifies as a ‘primary health need’ however the NHS imposes strict criteria to decide who can receive help with healthcare and many people with dementia will not meet the criteria and won’t be eligible.”
What is dementia?
(read our ‘Continuing Healthcare & dementia’ article for a detailed look at the disease)
Dementia is the ‘umbrella term’ used to describe a collection of progressive neurological disorders.
There are several types of dementia and some people may be diagnosed with a combination of types. People with dementia may repeat themselves often or have difficulty finding the right words and may experience increasing problems with communicating. Other symptoms can include short term memory problems, experiencing confusion and disorientation in environments which are unfamiliar whilst other people may hallucinate, and some can experience depression and anxiety.
The progressive nature of the condition means that each person’s experience of dementia is unique and they may not exhibit all these symptoms.
Types of dementia
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Vascular dementia
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies
- Young onset dementia
An individual is eligible for NHS continuing healthcare funding if they have been assessed as having a primary health need. This assessment is undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals who use a ‘Decision Support Tool’. The Decision Support Tool (DST) is a document which helps to record evidence of an individual’s care needs to determine if they qualify for continuing healthcare funding.
If you are a carer of an individual with dementia, it is important to ask for a NHS continuing healthcare assessment even if your patient / relative has been refused funding in the past. The progressive nature of the condition can mean that overtime the individual may start to ‘tick the boxes’ of criteria which previously weren’t applicable.
How can Compass CHC help?
Getting NHS continuing healthcare funding for people with dementia can be particularly problematic but our team at Compass CHC comprises a combination of qualified non-practicing solicitors and medical clinicians including nurses, tissue viability specialists and pharmacists whose expertise ensures we can understand the nuances and complexities of each case.
Complete our free, confidential assessment today and an expert member of our team will contact you for a no obligation discussion to outline your options.
Author: Tim Davies LLB
