One-to-one support

ABICS stands for Acquired Brain Injury Community Support. It is Headway Shropshire’s specialist one-to-one or two-to-one care and support service for adults living with an acquired brain injury, provided in your own home and local community and built around your needs, independence and personal goals.

ABICS is a specialist care and support service, not a buddy service. Our trained care workers can provide practical care alongside specialist brain injury support. We see ABICS as sitting between traditional domiciliary care and more intensive complex care – supporting you with the care you need while helping you maintain or build independence and live the life that matters to you.

Support can include personal care, medication, meals, shopping, everyday routines, appointments, community access, hobbies, relationships, education, volunteering, work and personal goals. Your support is shaped around you rather than a standard list of tasks.

Yes, where this is assessed, agreed and included in your care plan. Headway Shropshire is registered with CQC to provide personal care, and our trained care workers can provide medication support, including administering medication where appropriate.

ABICS is designed around real life. Support can take place in your own home, out in your local community, at appointments, during activities and alongside your attendance at the Headway Hub where this is part of your agreed support.

Yes. We can support you to plan, access and enjoy holidays and trips away. Depending on your care plan, this could include support with travel, personal care, medication, daily routines, activities and getting out and about while you are away.

Yes. As part of the ABICS service, clients receive free access to Headway Shropshire’s Headway Hub, events and social days. This gives you more opportunities to meet people, take part in activities and feel part of the wider Headway Shropshire community.

We know how important consistency is. Wherever possible, you will be supported by the same small, familiar team of care workers so you can build trust and feel comfortable with the people supporting you. Sometimes things change because of annual leave, sickness or availability. We will tell you about planned changes, and if someone new is joining your team, we will aim for you to meet them alongside a care worker you already know before they support you independently.

We will meet with you to understand your needs, routines, risks, preferences and the things you want to achieve. If ABICS is suitable, we will agree a care and support plan with you and, where appropriate, the family members or professionals involved in your support.

ABICS is not a free service, but as a charity, Headway Shropshire works hard to keep our fees as competitive and accessible as possible for a specialist acquired brain injury care and support service. We want people to be able to access high-quality, specialist support at a fair and sustainable cost.

Funding can come through Adult Social Care, Direct Payments or Personal Budgets, NHS Continuing Healthcare or ICB arrangements, case managers, deputies or personal injury funding, or through private payment.

You do not need to understand all of the funding options before contacting us. We can talk through your circumstances, explain the likely routes and help you understand what may be available.

Help Access the Right Support

Fees depend on the type, timing and complexity of the support you need.

As a charity, Headway Shropshire works hard to keep our fees competitive for a specialist acquired brain injury care and support service. Once we understand the support you need, we’ll provide a clear costing to you or the person responsible for funding your care.

There are minimum booking and weekly contract requirements, which we’ll explain clearly before you decide whether ABICS is right for you.

Yes. ABICS is a specialist care and support service rather than a standard short-visit domiciliary care service, so we usually work in minimum four-hour support blocks, with a minimum contracted package of 12 hours per week.

This gives our care workers enough time to provide meaningful, person-centred support rather than simply completing individual tasks. It allows time to build trusted relationships, work towards personal goals, support independence, access the community and respond properly to the things that matter to you.

We’ll talk through the proposed package with you during the assessment process so you understand the commitment, costs and how the hours could be used before anything is agreed.

We complete the referral and assessment, agree the proposed support and costs, confirm the contract and funding or payment arrangements, and then plan the care team and start date. We will keep you informed so you know what is happening and what comes next.

Yes. Referrals can come from social workers, health professionals, case managers, deputies, solicitors and other professionals, as well as from individuals and families. We will make sure the person receiving support is appropriately involved throughout.

Make a Professional Referral

We will talk this through with you. Another Headway Shropshire option, such as the Headway Hub or our support group and resources, may be more suitable, or we can help point you towards another service where appropriate. Getting in touch is still the right first step.