Slater and Gordon Lawyers is a committed supporter of SIA and its mission to improve healthcare for spinal cord-injured (SCI) people. To help achieve this mission, we collaborate with SIA and other stakeholders to provide a programme of Healthcare Professional Study Days.
The aim of the programme is to provide free SCI healthcare training to NHS staff. The study days are held all over England and Wales and tend to focus on a particular aspect of spinal cord injury including:
- Bowel and bladder management
- Moving and handling patients with SCI
- Non-traumatic SCI
Yesterday, I attended and presented at the ‘Professional Perspective’ study day in Cardiff. The focus areas for the day were on pain management, autonomic dysreflexia and psychological issues in patients with SCI.
The spinal Study Days are attended by healthcare professionals from a range of backgrounds and although they mostly involve, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses, all are certainly welcome.
As the majority of delegates work at district general hospitals, treating injuries and conditions of all kinds, they rarely see spinal cord injured patients, if at all. The Study Days therefore provide a fantastic learning experience for healthcare practitioners who want to learn more about the specialised care that spinal cord-injured patients need.
The speakers who lecture at the Study Days usually work at one of the specialist spinal centres around the country. Worryingly, statistics show that many spinal cord-injured patients are being treated at District General Hospitals rather than at these centres in the acute phase. It is this concern that spawned the idea for the Study Days.
Slater and Gordon and SIA share the view that every person who sustains a spinal cord injury has access to the same specialist treatment. Those who are treated in a District General Hospital should not be disadvantaged.
I have attended over a dozen SIA Study Days around the country over the past few years. As a lawyer specialising in spinal injury cases, the events are a great learning and information sharing opportunity. Although the presentations have a medical focus, I learn more about the clinicians’ perspective of spinal cord injury. I am passionate about ensuring that the compensation I obtain for my clients provides for their unique and specific medical needs, such as assisted fertility, disabled technology and continence issues. The Study Days help highlight the importance of the specialist care and equipment needed in SCI.
The presentations I have delivered at SIA Study Days provide an opportunity for me to discuss the work that I do with the Slater and Gordon spinal injuries team and how the legal process can help with rehabilitation. I know from the feedback I get from the delegates that many don’t realise that a spinal injury claim delivers more than just a compensation award. As part of the claim, we focus on obtaining rehabilitation for our clients at the earliest possible stage, as well as interim payments to help them return to independent living.
Yesterday, I discussed a case that I settled recently for a spinal cord injured client who was able to use interim payments that we secured for him to purchase and adapt a bungalow and employ a 24-hour care team. My colleagues in the Slater and Gordon Community Care team are also helping this client obtain continuing healthcare from his local authority.
The series of Healthcare Professional Study Days is on-going. To see the full schedule and book a free place, please click here.
Jenny Maloney
Jennifer.maloney@slatergordon.co.uk
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