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A new website has been launched to offer a digital lifeline to those with a long-term or serious health condition.

When you or someone you care for has a long-term or serious illness, life can feel difficult. Problems relating to money, jobs, housing and social care are particularly common – and often people don’t understand the support they’re entitled to, or how to access it.

The new Routes to Rights platform, supported by research funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), helps patients find financial, practical, and health support that could make a huge difference to quality of life.

Helping patients to navigate the system

The focus of the site is on helping people understand and access the financial, social and health support that they are legally entitled to.

The easy-to-use platform covers common issues relating to day-to-day life as well as health and care decisions. If users have specific questions, they can ask the inbuilt chat tool called AccessAva, which offers clear, straightforward legal information and support.

The site was developed following a research project supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) which aimed to understand the social and welfare consequences of having a serious or terminal illness. The research initially focused on people who were likely be in the last year of life but found that the same challenges often come up much earlier in an illness.

‘People shouldn’t have to battle to get the support they’re entitled to’

The work – and development of the Routes to Rights site – has been led by Dr Colette Hawkins, who is an experienced Palliative Medicine Consultant with University Hospitals Tees.

Dr Hawkins said: “Living with long-term or serious illness is hard. On top of ill health, people often experience a wide range of problems around daily life, such as money concerns or problems with unsuitable housing. The law provides a range of rights, entitlements and protections which would help, but these are often missed.

“There are lots of services offering advice and support, but it can be hard to know where to go, or what to ask. Services often work separately from each other – the system isn’t joined up at all. People often find themselves lost, or battling, to get the support they are entitled to by law. The Routes to Rights site helps everyone understand their legal rights when they are ill or looking after someone else who is ill and makes it easier for people to get the right advice and support when they need it.

“We know it’s important for professionals to understand the rights people have—whether it’s dealing with everyday challenges or making decisions about health and care. We have created a programme of education to support this and help services connect better.”

The Routes to Rights programme of work  is hosted by hosted by University Hospitals Tees. It has been funded by the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme and The Legal Education Foundation.

Watch a short video which explains more about the project.

Read more about the research that led to this work.

A wide range of people and organisations have contributed to the Routes to Rights project. These include universities, health services and hospices, advice services, charities and community groups, housing services, social prescribing teams, government services, local authorities, public health teams and legal services. The input of a lived experience group has been key to the work.

The AccessAva digital programme has been developed by Access Social Care, a charity specialising in legal advice for people with social needs.

The information offered on Routes to Rights currently applies to adults (aged 18 or over) and is based on English law.

Visit Routes to Rights