If you need other additional support

Whatever your needs, we want to help you to use the service we offer – and we understand that not all additional needs are about physical disability. For example, you may have:

• a learning disability
• a mental health condition, such as anxiety or bi-polar disorder
• a neurodiverse condition, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Dyslexia
• other conditions, such as memory loss or dementia

There are other reasons why you might need extra support. You could be in a stressful position that makes you vulnerable – for example if you’re going through a divorce, or a bereavement.

Please let us know about your situation and we will do our best to meet your needs, where possible.

You can find out more about our approach to making reasonable adjustments in our reasonable adjustments policy.

Ways we can help you

There are various things we can do to make it easier for you to communicate with us and use our service, depending on your individual needs. The following examples are just some of the ways we can help:

• We can agree on times to call you, so we don’t disrupt your routines or other arrangements.
• We can provide a single point of contact so you know who to speak to if you need help.
• We’re committed to communicating clearly, but we can adapt the language we use to make letters easier to understand to meet your needs.
• We can give you information about our service in EasyRead format (PDF 407KB), if you’d find that helpful.
• We can send you written summaries of our telephone conversations – so you can come back to them later and read what we said.
• We can talk to someone else about your complaint instead of you, such as a relative or friend. You just need to let us know that’s what you want us to do.
• We can sign-post you to organisations that can help in other areas – for example consumer advice organisations that can help with debt advice or other money worries, other ombudsman schemes, or organisations who can listen and provide emotional support.

Let us know what would be most helpful for you, and we’ll do our best to adapt to your needs.

If you need urgent emotional support, the following organisations are available 24 hours:

• If you need someone to talk to, then Samaritans are available on 116 123 (UK) for free, 24/7. They are there to listen and they won't judge or tell you what to do.
• CALM are a national helpline for men to talk about how they are feeling. Call 0800 58 58 58 (UK). They are available 5pm-midnight 365 days a year.
• For support in a crisis, Text Shout to 85258. If you’re experiencing a personal crisis, are unable to cope and need support. Shout can help with urgent issues such as suicidal thoughts, abuse or assault, self-harm, bullying or relationship difficulties.