Activist and disability consultant Jo Tolley who dedicates her life to empowering people with disabilities to craft a world which embraces equity and diversity needs our help.

On 5th January 2023, Jo had major spinal surgery for scoliosis that requires a lot of post operative care and rehab. Due to having cerebral palsy and already having some care needs, Jo had planned (and barely managed to self-fund) three weeks of 24/7 care for when she came out of hospital.

Whilst in hospital, Jo was told there was a 6-8 week lead time for community physiotherapy, which wouldn’t have been intense enough to get her back to or exceeding what she was previously able to physically do. This then meant that she needed to find herself a private therapist.

Now post-surgery and with a screw pressing on a nerve, Jo is in a lot of pain which has stunted her progress with rehab and has meant that she has to return to hospital for emergency surgery within the next few weeks. Her three weeks of 24/7 care comes to an end on 7th February 2023, but Jo is still not able to be left alone pre surgery as she independently cannot roll or move in any way.

Jo has been advised by Lincolnshire social services that they CANNOT fund 24/7 care as this is classified as a ‘health’ need and she has been told by the health social care team that the only thing they could offer is a ‘transitional bed’ somewhere in the county for therapists to come in and work with her 2-3 times a week or therapists to come into her home to do the same thing.

If Jo was able to stay at home with temporary funded care, her own staff could ensure that she was safe and comfortable pre and post surgery, where they would be there to support her in the first couple of weeks post surgery, whilst Jo is still learning to roll and safely transfer out of bed to the toilet etc. They would also be trained hands on the physio. Having spoken to the dep manager of the care company Jo normally uses overnight, she was also advised that there are a lot of agency workers who would not be able to be trained to support her in the early days

In short, as a result of a flawed and a broken social care system in the UK, all parties are stretched to their limits and simply not able to offer the financial support which Jo so desperately needs.

We are seeking financial help and support from her friends, family and kindhearted philanthropists for the additional care and more physio rehab, as she simply can’t afford everything alone.