Life-changing support team up for award

The parents of a Rasen area woman who needs round-the-clock care have nominated her support team for a national award.
Rebecca  with her support team, including Mary Cottingham, right, who has been with Rebecca for many  years.Rebecca  with her support team, including Mary Cottingham, right, who has been with Rebecca for many  years.
Rebecca with her support team, including Mary Cottingham, right, who has been with Rebecca for many years.

Michael and Julie Ormian say the life of their daughter Rebecca has been transformed by the care she is now receiving.

The couple say that transformation has only been possible thanks to changes in healthcare funding, which means the family now has control of Rebecca’s Personal Health Budget.

Mr Ormian said: “Personal Health Budgets are very new, with Lincolnshire one of the first to take on this system of funding.

“We secured the Budget for Rebecca in October 2017 and the main task for her family was to recruit staff to join her support team.

“Previously, we had no say in who the support staff were, but this is now really hands on stuff.”

Rebecca’s sister Amanda now overseas things as support team leader and the vision for Rebecca’s family was to ‘inject a new energy into her life’.

Mr Ormian added: “We used words such as revitalise, energise, enthusiasm and enrichment when interviewing potential staff and we all agreed an applicant’s CV was not as important as their personality and character.”

Although Rebecca cannot talk, she was an important part of the interview process.

Mr Ormian continued: “All the candidates met Rebecca and this allowed us to see her reaction to them.”

Mr and Mrs Ormian have been so impressed with the support team that has now been built up - and the resulting change in Rebecca - they have nominated them for the Great British Care Awards.

Mr Ormian said: “They have listened, absorbed and understood our desire to support Rebecca in a more holistic way.

“With every day that passes, they surpass all our expectations and, most importantly, they realise and acknowledge their own growing skills and confidence, and how that impacts on Rebecca’s quality of life.

“They can see the change in Rebecca over the past year and there is a general feeling of celebration and positivity.

“They are doing a brilliant job.

“A year on and we still cannot believe it - the change in Rebecca is amazing.”

The team will have to wait until November 8 to hear if their nomination for the awards has been successful, when the East Midlands Regional Awards ceremony takes place in Nottingham.

Assistance

Having navigated the new Personal health Budget, The Ormians are keen to help other people in a similar situation. Mrs Ormian said: “We had lots of hurdles to get over as it was so new, but looking back, it wasn’t as horrendous as we thought at the time.

“Having been tgrough it all, we are happy to help others.”

Making contact

Anyone who would like to speak to Mr and Mrs Ormian about their experiences with the PHB system can call them on 01673 828718 or email [email protected]