Ron's Story
Ron used his care budget to choose someone to exercise with him and help him to lose weight.
Ron is 50 and takes olanzapine every day to control his symptoms. Although the medication works well, it has resulted in Ron gaining a lot of weight.
As part of his care programme, it was arranged that a care worker would go with Ron to the local gym twice every week. Ron enjoyed the exercise and lost some weight. But his care worker, a man of a similar age, moved away and was replaced by a slim young woman. Ron felt too embarrassed to go to the gym with her.
So his social worker found out about direct paymentsand arranged for Ron to receive enough cash to pay someone of his choice to go with him to the gym.
Ron is lucky, because in many areas, too few people are given direct payments and those with mental health problems are the least likely to be offered them. But people who do receive them often find they really do have more say in their support and better choice of services.
Tagged: Community & Relationships | Everyday Life | Feeling Safe & Confident | Keeping Healthy
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