Sarah Hanlon is a qualified nurse and is one of our Client Liaison Managers based in our Bristol office.
She joined the firm in September 2005, having previously worked as a case manager for people who have sustained catastrophic injuries. Since qualifying as a nurse Sarah has also worked as a discharge coordinator at the brain injury rehabilitation centre in Frenchay.
In her spare time (which, having a young daughter, is limited!) she enjoys walking and reading.
One of her most rewarding moments in working as a client liaison manager has been helping to bring about a transfer to a suitable placement for a young man who was in a nursing home that was not able to accommodate his needs following a brain injury. Sarah is very focused upon working with the families of brain injury survivors and being able to offer them support and guidance through what is a long, traumatic journey.
An example of Sarah's work
Sarah was asked to visit one of our clients, a young girl with Cerebral Palsy living with her parents and attending a special needs school. The aim was to find out whether there was anything that could be done to help make all of their lives easier as they were not in receipt of any other help. Because the legal case was at an early stage and the health Trust had not admitted fault, we needed to look at ways of helping before the family could access interim payments.
Sarah assessed the child and her family home and it quickly became apparent that she needed to be referred to specialist services. Sarah developed a good working relationship with the social worker and occupational therapist that was appointed to the family, and together arranged for several pieces of equipment to be provided, including a through floor lift preventing the parents having to carry their daughter up and downstairs. Sarah linked in with the school and also arranged for some respite cover.
As a result of this, the situation for our client and her family was improved in a relatively short space of time. Without Sarah’s input, it is likely that the family would have struggled to get the additional facilities from their local services unless they had been ready for a long struggle.