Ten years ago, Louise Sheffield established Active Case Management, despite having no background in case management. Here, she reflects on the growth of the company in terms of size, reach and reputation and how they are entering their second decade with positivity.

“Very refreshing but completely terrifying.”

Louise Sheffield’s early experience of setting up on her own in case management was a far cry from her career to date.

“I’d worked in the NHS and at the time there weren’t many people doing the work I did,” reflects Louise, whose background is in occupational therapy specialising in brain injury.

“But then here I was setting up a business in this new area of case management – I’d never been a case manager, although my service co-ordinator role in the NHS had drawn on the same skills of assessment and planning through a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation programme.

“I’d gone from being in the NHS and knowing everyone at every event I went to, to going to events as a case manager and knowing no-one.

“It was a strange time at first, and I did think I must’ve been mad. But my instinct then was the same as it is now – just to crack on.”

And the determination of Louise – with her years of experience as an NHS rehabilitation co-ordinator – to make her mark has paid off, with her business, Active Case Management, marking its 10th anniversary.

With a team of 13 people covering the Midlands, North West and North East from its Wigan head office, its reach continues to grow.

“For the first few years it was only me and it was a learning process in many ways, but I wanted to learn, I was starting with a blank slate,” says Louise.

“It was a very different mentality to working in the NHS. While I was there, we were very conscious of waiting lists and our targets and whether a different service was more appropriate than ours. I was the gatekeeper of the service – but for me, from the outset with my business, it was a case of I’ll take on any client, as long as it’s within my capability.

“I didn’t always know if I was doing things right, but the solicitors seemed to be happy, the clients were happy, so I thought it must be right.

“But as you grow and create relationships and build a team, you find you have the benefit of the expertise and experience of those around you. That continues to help me.”

Having built a strong reputation for its support of, and dedication to, clients, Active is also known for its intermediary work.

Louise herself is a registered intermediary, a role she has now established as her niche in case management, but was something she was unsure how to incorporate into Active’s offering in the early days.

“I actually saw it as a potential threat to my case management work at first – I’m always cautious if someone claims to be an expert in too many things,” says Louise.

“But actually, I needn’t have been so conscious of that, as it’s become something we’re now known for and I’m very proud of our reputation.

“My favourite kind of client is one who is a bit cheeky, bit naughty, who maybe sails a bit close to the wind. There will be some challenging behaviour alongside the bags of character – but that often comes with disinhibition and impulsiveness and that can often get people into trouble with the law.

“And that is where our specialism can be really important.”

While fulfilling both roles concurrently, case manager and intermediary work are very different, says Louise.

“If I put all my files together for my case management work, they would fill an entire wall of the office, whereas my intermediary work would fit into one filing cabinet,” she says.

“With case management, you learn a huge amount about your clients, and you’ll know their shoe size, you’ll know their aunty’s name, you’ll know that with some clients you’d better answer the phone to them at 2am or else they’ll have called another 10 times before 3am.

“But with intermediary work, it’s very narrow remit but very deep. I like how it doesn’t take up the huge amount of brain space you need for your clients and their lives.

“But the roles definitely complement each other and the skills you need for one do help you with the other.”

Going forward, Active continues to progress and Louise’s can-do attitude is at the heart of that.

“This was a different world at first, but it’s a great one to work in. I’ve got a great team of 13 people now and we’ll keep on doing the best we can for our clients,” she says.

And the ethos of the team as they enter their second decade is more determined than ever before.

“For us, it’s all about saying ‘Yes we can, bring it on’,” adds Louise.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a “significant impact” on case management practice and the lives of those living with brain injuries, early findings of a UK-wide research project have revealed.

Last year, BABICM launched a study among its members to discover the true impact of the pandemic, and how case managers and clients alike are adapting to the ongoing restrictions.

The study has gathered the personal accounts of people with brain injuries across the country, and their support networks, to understand how lives and working practices have changed since March last year.

The project, which is being completed by BABICM and the University of Plymouth, has now moved into the focus group phase, which will explore the experiences of brain injury case managers.

Areas of interest include changes of practice, the impact on their clients, their families and support networks, and access to services.

While fact finding is still ongoing, with two of the five scheduled focus groups now completed, trends are already emerging.

“We have already noticed some interesting trends amongst the case managers – but what is becoming abundantly clear is that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on case management practice and the lives of those who have sustained a brain injury,” says Ben Needham-Holmes, a member of the BABICM research subgroup who is spearheading the project.

“Our thanks go out to all of those who are taking part in this study. Without their participation, this study would not be possible.”

Following the culmination of the focus group phase, the project will then move into interviews with clients and/or their family members or support networks to learn about their experiences.

This is expected to conclude by May, after which time the data analysis will take place, which will draw out the key themes from the research.

The final research will be shared in academic and professional forums, to help shape future case management practice.

An event which examines the latest research, thinking and best practice in chronic pain is bringing an international audience together with leading speakers from around the world.

The second International Chronic Pain Virtual Summit is being held on Thursday and Friday next week, and offers a programme of presentations from expert speakers alongside networking opportunities for delegates.

The free event has over 1,500 clinicians, case managers, insurance and legal professionals and others with special interest in chronic pain set to attend, to hear from some of the leading names in chronic pain globally.

Among the 24 speakers are Dr Ian Brown, from Oxford University; Dr Dawood Sayed, President of the American Society of Pain & Neuroscience; Dr Beth Darnall from Stanford University; Dr Matthew Bair from Indiana University; and Professor Diane Playford, Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation at the University of Warwick and a consultant in rehabilitation medicine at the Central England Rehabilitation Unit.

The CPD-accredited International Chronic Pain Virtual Summit, organised by RTW Plus – themselves regarded as leaders in the field of pain management with the development of their RESTORE programme – builds on the success of the inaugural event last year.

Held during the pandemic, the first summit was always intended to be online to bring together the global community in pain management without the geographical restrictions, and had been in the planning well before the onset of COVID-19.

“By holding such events online, we are improving access to information about pain management for people around the world. We are bringing together the best speakers in the world who are sharing their expertise at an event which is free of charge, so we are really opening this area up to so many people,” says Dr Devdeep Ahuja, clinical director at RTW Plus.

“We always intended these summits to be online, as then it is opened up to the whole world and wherever you are in it, but we only hope that with so many events being taken online since the start of the pandemic, that people aren’t experiencing Zoom fatigue just yet!”

The approach to tackling chronic pain has changed and continues to change, and the summit will play an important role in advancing discussion on the topic, says Dr Ahuja.

“We are continuing the conversation we started at the first summit and taking it forward. We are helping to advance the thinking in this area. Around 10 or 15 years ago, the discussion used to talk about disks, cartilage, physical structures when we talked about pain, but now we talk about the whole person and how they perceive pain.,” he says.

“Even now, so many people are in the cycle of going to their GP, then being referred to the physiotherapist, then to the orthopaedic consultant, then back to the physio, and that cycle will keep going without the right intervention. It’s not just about the back, or knee, or ankle, we need to look at the whole person and their mindset.”

The summit largely replicates the format of the last one, with networking opportunities and breaks now built in as a result of delegate feedback.

“We have added in a lot of time for networking, for people to share ideas and information, as well as speak to each other in private groups, and there is the opportunity to speak with our speakers too. We didn’t have that the first time, but we are learning as we go along,” adds Dr Ahuja.

“We also appreciate people need time to make a cup of tea or take a break between speakers, so we have factored that in too. The presentations are around 50 minutes long, rather than the full hour, so there will be time for comments or questions during the session.

“We have really listened to the feedback and acted on it, to create what we hope will be an event which takes in everything our delegates will want.”

The second International Chronic Pain Virtual Summit is being held online on February 4 and 5. It is free to attend. To register for attendance, visit 2021.virtualpainsummit.com