Now is the time to embrace better ways of working
By Merryn Dowson, assistant psychologist and part of the team behind rehab goal-setting platform Goal Manager
A stitch in time saves nine. Rome wasn’t built in a day. The best things take time. We are all too aware that some of the most important parts of our lives have been crafted, carved and developed over months and years. Consider your education, for example: you may well have been to primary school, secondary school and then sixth form college. Perhaps you went on to do an undergraduate degree.
Stepping up the fight against alcohol-related brain injury
Alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI) is becoming more widely recognised, but specific rehab services for the condition are surprisingly rare.
With few dedicated units for patients with ARBI, many patients in need of specialist care instead find themselves in a hospital or even an elderly care home.
ARBI is characterised by prolonged cognitive impairment and changes in the brain due to chronic alcohol consumption.
A 20-year adventure in rehab robotics
Back in 2000, the world was a very different place, particularly in terms of technology. Many of the high-tech innovations we now accept as standard were not yet launched and healthcare remained one of the most traditional markets around. Yet into this climate, Hocoma launched the prototype of its pioneering Lokomat, a robotic medical device which provides repetitive and highly physiological gait training to patients, enabling even some of the most impaired to learn to walk again.
COVID-19: Life in the fast lane
A few months ago, my brother excitedly told us he was planning a trip to Holland with his friends because he thought a few days away would be a welcome break from the stresses of work. However, my sister did not share his excitement and her immediate response was to tell him not to go. When she failed to dissuade him, she told him to at least pack a face mask. This kind of response is not surprising at a time when the world has been brought to the edge of mania. There is a name for this phenomenon- ‘moral panic’. Moral panic is a concept in sociology that refers to the phenomenon of a mass of people becoming distressed about a perceived threat or social issue.
Frontal lobe paradox – how can we best help service users?
Due to the nature of hidden impairments in brain injured individuals, they may be assessed as having capacity to make their own decisions when they cannot. As a result, they can be vulnerable and find themselves in dangerous situations.
People working with brain injured service users must be aware of how this injury impacts decision making and be prepared to share and explain this to other professionals.
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) is presumably familiar to most people working with individuals with a brain injury or mental impairment.
How to be a good medico-legal expert
I’m often asked by colleagues what makes a good medico-legal expert in complex high value (multi-track) cases. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot since I started doing this kind of work and something I’ve discussed with solicitors, time and again. A commitment to the caseload Being a medical expert witness is not a trivial undertaking. People should certainly not view this work as an easy way to make money. Of course, it’s possible to make a good living, but only for people who have something valuable to offer. It’s also a competitive business, so being as good as you can be makes a big difference to the number of instructions you will receive. Like most aspects of professional life, the more you put into it the more you get out in several ways.
Mysteries of the deep
What do you think is happening in the images below? Maybe the man is reaching for a glass of water on the bedside table, or perhaps he is moving to adjust his pillow? 
You might be surprised to find out that this man is actually punching someone; or at least, he thinks he is.
He’s suffering from REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD). These images are taken from a video recording showing a patient having a dream that he was fighting an attacker.
2020: The year of the exoskeleton?
While exoskeletons have been in existence for several years, it is only more recently the star as a rehab tool is rising. Usage among people with severe injuries has increased significantly, and the benefits they can bring to their lives are becoming more widely recognised.
The year ahead is seen as a potentially very significant period in the further development of the exoskeleton, with increasingly high-technology versions being developed, alongside those made for a home environment, rather than a traditional clinical setting.
Many sceptics still point to cost as being a prohibitive factor in the more mainstream use of exoskeletons, but ongoing medical trials are generating new levels of interest and attracting funding to aid
“It’s a really, really lonely place to be…”
Paula Walters was strangled by her boyfriend in 2006. “I remember him putting his hands around my throat and thinking, ‘I’m going to die’.” For years afterwards she kept forgetting things, struggling to concentrate and losing control of her emotions. At her lowest point, she even tried to take her own life. What Paula didn’t know, was that her symptoms were not because she was “crazy” or “stupid”.
