When Funding Fails: Brain Injury Charities in Crisis

A new report from Headway UK – the brain injury association – paints a stark picture of the reality facing brain injury survivors across the UK. As funding delays, reassessment issues and late payments worsen, local Headway charities like ours are being pushed to the brink.

Every 90 seconds, someone in the UK is admitted to hospital with a brain injury. Many of those individuals rely on community services like Headway Kent to help rebuild their lives. But the systems meant to support them are failing—leaving people waiting months for care, losing vital progress, and risking further decline.

Key findings from the national survey of local Headway groups include:

• 76% are aware of survivors unable to access services due to assessment delays of up to 12 months.

• 37% reported cuts to funded hours for existing clients—despite no change in needs.

• 57% have experienced late payments from local authorities and ICBs, causing serious cashflow issues.

• Nearly 10% of local Headway groups have shut their doors in the last two years.

• Only 37% believe they are sustainable for the next five years.

Case studies in the report highlight the human cost: families left without support, survivors becoming isolated and unwell, and charities forced to divert resources to chasing unpaid invoices instead of delivering care.

At Headway Kent, we see these pressures first-hand. Cuts to care packages, lengthy reassessments, and regional postcode lotteries are affecting the people we support—people who cannot afford to be left waiting.

We are joining the national call for urgent government action to:

1. Increase and ringfence funding for community-based brain injury services.

2. Fund national training for assessors and commissioners on the hidden and fluctuating effects of brain injury.

3. Reduce waiting times by resourcing assessment teams properly.

4. Expand the Fair Payment Code to include local authorities and ICBs, to ensure timely payments.

Without change, more survivors will be left in crisis—and more essential services will disappear.

Contact us for the full report at: info@headwaykent.org