My role as a Care Services Executive at the RAF Benevolent Fund

John Hickson works in our Care Services team and has been working for the Fund since 2012. In this guest blog, John tells us more about his role.

I joined the RAF Benevolent Fund in September 2012 after serving in the RAF for 38 years. I started on a fixed term contract which was for one year initially working in the General Welfare team.

I was in that team for 18 months where much of my work involved responding to requests for assistance from members of the RAF family who'd found themselves in difficult circumstances.

There were many scenarios which required investigation, in particular veterans who required financial assistance with housing, furniture, electrical appliances and other items.

Recently, I joined the Care Services team which has given me the fantastic opportunity to broaden my welfare expertise.

The Care Services team works to address the needs of those who require additional fees (known as top-up) for their domiciliary and residential care. If someone requires long-term care, we ensure that applicants get the help that they are entitled to.

We try to ensure that applicants and their caseworkers understand how much is available for funding from the local authority. We also assess applications for various types of care equipment needed by applicants. These can range from riser recliner chairs, profiling beds, stair-lifts and bath-lifts. We deal with occupational therapists and local authorities to ensure the requirement is genuine and whether there is an entitlement to a disabled facilities grant.

After working for so many years in the RAF, it has been extremely satisfying being able to bring my knowledge and experience from my time served to my role at the Fund.

By John Hickson