Mr G. Hathaway

Location: Kidderminster

"On December 2nd 2013, my son James almost died from Aspiration Pneumonia. He was in hospital, after aspirating in his respite centre, for 10 days and it took nearly 4 months before we could say he was 'back to normal'. When speaking with James' clinical nurse one day, I just wondered if there was a way that I could stay at home and look after him so that he doesn't need respite anymore. After 13 months, I was glad to say that we had a Personal Health Budget in place, and James never went into respite again. By having a Personal Health Budget it has taken so much stress out of my life. Now if James is ill he can stay at home and will be well looked after. It also means that James can take time away from the day centre and enjoy days out with his family. This would never have been possible without the Personal Health Budget.

Although it was quite stressful as I had no idea what legalities were involved with a Personal Health Budget, Solo Support Services have taken all the stress out of the legal side of things which allowed me to get on with the things that were imoprtant to me, like looking after my son. Solo never make you feel foolish, even if you ask the silliest of questions. I chose to use Solo's third party option because they are skilled and have all the experience of paperwork, legalities and finances like paying staff and day care charges. Solo Support Services provided such valuable information on what you can do with your Personal Budget."

- Been with Solo Support Services since May 2015