Case management, immediate needs assessments, and securing funding for complex care
When a person suffers a serious injury or experiences a sudden deterioration in health, their needs can quickly become complex and overwhelming. They may require coordinated care and support across multiple disciplines, including health, social care, accommodation, therapy, education, and practical support for daily living.
Meeting these needs often requires access to significant financial resources. In these circumstances, a case manager plays a vital role in ensuring that the individual receives appropriate, timely and holistic support, and in helping to ensure that funding is secured so those needs can be properly met.
What is a case manager?
A case manager is a qualified professional, often with a background in nursing, occupational therapy, social work, or rehabilitation, who is responsible for assessing, planning, coordinating and reviewing services for a person with complex needs. Their primary focus is the wellbeing of the client, working in a person centred way to maximise their independence, quality of life and long term outcomes.
Acting as a central point of contact, the case manager can bring together medical professionals, therapists, care providers, housing specialists, and education providers, and engage with legal representatives to ensure a cohesive and effective care plan. Crucially, they also help articulate the level of support required and the associated costs, providing a clear rationale for why funding is necessary.
A core aspect of the case manager’s role is identifying and arranging appropriate care and therapeutic input. This may include personal care support, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, neuropsychological support, or specialist rehabilitation programmes. The case manager also considers practical and environmental needs, such as suitable accommodation, which may involve adapting an existing property, sourcing temporary accommodation, or identifying long term housing solutions that are accessible and safe for the individual. Each of these elements carries financial implications, and without adequate funding, there is a real risk that care will be delayed, reduced in quality, or become unsustainable. Care packages are therefore regularly reviewed to ensure that funding levels remain aligned with the individual’s evolving needs.
Educational support is another important area that may fall within a case manager’s remit, particularly where the person with needs is a child, young person or adult engaged in education or training. A case manager will assess how an injury or health condition impacts learning and participation and will work closely with education providers to ensure appropriate support is in place. This may include specialist assessments, home tuition, a phased return to education, assistive technology, or transport arrangements, all of which may require funding if the individual is to access education on an equitable basis and avoid long term disadvantage.
Communication, coordination and advocacy are central to effective case management. Case managers ensure that the individual and their family are fully involved in decision making and that the person’s wishes and goals remain at the heart of the care plan.
Case management and interim funding
In cases involving personal injury or medical negligence claims, case managers often work alongside solicitors and insurers to support applications for interim payments or rehabilitation funding. Securing timely funds is essential to avoid reliance on overstretched statutory services and to ensure that evidence based, needs led support can be implemented without delay.
An immediate needs assessment (INA) is a particularly important early step in this process. Conducted as soon as possible after a case manager has been approached, the INA identifies urgent needs requiring immediate funding, such as interim care, essential therapy, equipment provision, or accommodation solutions. By clearly evidencing these needs and their costs, the INA provides a robust framework for obtaining funds early in a claim, preventing avoidable deterioration and supporting recovery from the outset.
Beyond addressing immediate concerns, an INA also lays the foundation for longer term planning and funding decisions. Together, skilled case management and timely access to appropriate funds ensure that identified needs are not merely documented but actively met, enabling individuals to stabilise, rehabilitate and move toward greater independence and quality of life.
When someone’s life has been affected by serious injury, waiting is not an option. Establishing liability and securing interim payments at the earliest opportunity is critical, so that clients can access the care, therapy, accommodation, and practical support they need when it matters most. This funding allows their immediate needs to be addressed without delay, helping to stabilise the lives of clients and their families as quickly as possible.
In addition to working with case managers, consulting with leading experts across medical, rehabilitation and care disciplines is also necessary to ensure that clients’ long term needs are fully identified and planned for, so that the associated costs can be claimed, giving them the strongest possible foundation for the future.