Dr Kate final audio

A support hub was created to assist individuals with long-term health conditions, particularly regarding benefits and housing issues. Dr. Kate Mahoney, a clinical psychologist, has witnessed the positive impact of the hub on patient care. Many patients, who are often working-age adults unfamiliar with the benefits system, find it difficult to navigate and manage their finances due to their injuries. The support and advice provided by the hub have helped them successfully handle their debts. Without this service, it would be harder for Dr. Mahoney to address other aspects of their injuries, such as physiotherapy. This vital service is crucial during a time when many people are facing significant challenges. Our support hub was set up to provide help for people with long-term health conditions. Advisors support staff and patients with an array of issues, primarily around benefits and housing. Dr Kate Mahoney is a clinical psychologist who has seen the direct impact of our service on patient care. I'm a clinical psychologist in the Plastic Surgery Service in the Wilfrid Hospital. I have referred patients right to the support hub. And it's been invaluable because recovery is not just about the physical recovery. The psychological recovery, why they're often seeing these, is the kind of physical effect that this injury has throughout their life. These are often working-age adults who have worked their entire lives, have never had to interact with the benefits system, not being able to work, feeling so low or anxious because of the pain that you're in. You don't always have the mental capacity to navigate a system that you would at other parts of your life too. The support that the support hub provides them and the advice has helped them successfully manage debts that have arisen through the injury. So without it, it makes my job more difficult. Because if someone comes in and is so distressed about not being able to pay their rent or kind of worrying about whether they will be able to pay off a debt that then prevents them from reporting about other aspects of their injuries, such as the physiotherapy that they need to do, this is a really good kind of vital service. And I think it's absolutely needed at a time when people are really struggling.