Spinal Injury High on the Agenda
21/05/2003
'Championing the rights of victims'
It had
been a normal day when Hannah, whilst out walking with her parents, was
knocked down by a car being driven in excess of the speed limit down a
one-way street. She suffered serious spinal injuries and will require
specialist help and care for the rest of her life. She is now paralysed
from the neck down and requires ventilator assistance to breathe.
Everything changed in that moment for Hannah and her family. They
didn't know who to turn to and what to do next. Many families find
themselves in this position but hopefully all is about to change...
A
comprehensive report entitled "Standards for Patients Requiring Spinal
Cord Injury Care" was published today following an in-depth review of
spinal injury services. The NHS Specialist Commissioning Services set
up a Review body to consider in detail and make recommendations for
improvements to the Department of Health regarding the services
provided to spinally injured patients.
The Association of Personal
Injury Lawyers (APIL) were invited to have a representative on the
committee and Warren Collins, Partner at Alexander Harris Solicitors
and National Co-ordinator to the Spinal Cord Injury Special Interest
Group for APIL was nominated to be the legal representative in the
Review body.
The remit was to look at the service provided to
paralysed patients in spinal units across the country. Initially it
focused on the South East but the intention is that the recommendations
will hopefully be rolled out nation-wide. The review looked at various
aspects of patients needs from the management of injuries at the scene
of an accident through to discharge.
As the only solicitor
involved in the review, Warren Collins was part of the group that
looked at the information that is provided to those patients whilst on
the unit and also the patients' discharge from a unit. "This review has
been long overdue. As someone who works closely with spinally injured
patients and their families I am well placed to understand some of the
problems being faced by our clients. I was therefore only too pleased
to have been involved to ensure that all angles were investigated and
represented. I have become particularly concerned with the current
levels of information which are given to patients and their families on
admission to a spinal unit. Currently the provision of such information
is ad-hoc and is not subject to any standard format or quality
standard. What we want to see in place is useful and practical
information provided nationally to every patient which is of an
exceptionally high standard and includes appropriate advice on legal
rights and details of specialist solicitors who are best placed to
handle this type of complex catastrophic work."
"Being with the
right solicitor who has the experience in handling complex injuries is
paramount. It can in some cases make the difference of many thousands
of pounds in compensation. This is money which is vital to providing
for life long care for injured victims. The catastrophic injury team at
Alexander Harris have settled cases in excess of 35million in the past
twelve months which has ensured that all of our clients are able to
move forward and put in place care regimes which will meet their needs
for the rest of their lives. It also provides their families with the
confidence that care will be there even if they are not."
Specifically
the areas within the Paper which Warren Collins was able to recommend,
related to:- Spinal Cord Injury Centres having a comprehensive written
policy and procedure for discharge and that this discharge planning
will take account of finances including compensation claims. That all
patients will be provided with information on their legal rights at a
time deemed appropriate by the multi-disciplinary team. That funding
for the provision of carers will be the responsibility of the local
authority the primary care team or the medico-legal team. That the
individual will have access to information pertaining to legal rights
with regard to employment support, including the Disability
Discrimination Act 1995.
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