“You can’t wallow – you’ve got to get on with it”
Having experienced a brain haemorrhage five years ago, 52-year-old Jane Hallard from Gloucester has had to rebuild her life. Here, she details her struggle and how she has learned to look to the future with positivity.
In the five years since my brain injury, I’ve had to come to know a whole new me. While I look the same as I did, I’m far from being the same person. On that day, back in 2015, when I was helping my son to clean his car, little could I have imagined what lay ahead.
Expert view: The neurological and rehabilitation impact of Covid-19
Inspire Neurocare’s director of clinical excellence, Michelle Kudhail, explores the emerging understanding of the chronic, long-term neurological impacts of Covid 19 and the neurorehabilitation requirements arising from this new virus.
Since Covid-19 first hit the headlines in early 2020, the global healthcare community has faced significant challenges to keep people safe and mitigate the impact on the health sector as cases continued to rise. With an estimated global total of 21m cases, in the United Kingdom, over 319,000 individuals[1] have so far tested positive for the virus. For many people, Covid-19 is a mild illness, but emerging global evidence continues to demonstrate the significant neurological and cardiovascular complications of the virus in those patients who experience serious symptoms.
Bereavement damages – an overview
The thorny issue of bereavement damages in fatal accident cases has recently raised its head again on one of my cases, writes associate solicitor Lauren Haas. Since so few of the families I encounter are aware of bereavement damages it may be useful to summarise the current law in this area and set out what the potential issues are.
What are bereavement damages? Bereavement damages are a fixed sum of money which can be claimed on the unlawful death of a loved one. They are separate from any financial dependency claim, which can of course also be brought.
“We couldn’t be certain of our clients’ safety, so we shut down”
Well-known across South Wales for providing an essential rehabilitation service to patients with brain injuries and neurological conditions, Neuro Physio Wales took decisive action to protect them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sara Davis, neurophysiotherapist and director of the Bridgend clinic, explains more.
Back in March, as it became clear that lockdown was coming, we knew we had to make a decision as to how we would handle the weeks and months ahead. As a very busy centre, we had a full clinic and many patients were waiting for appointments due to the demand we were seeing - but what had to come first was ensuring their safety. We have a great mix of clients who come here, but some are very vulnerable with complex needs, and the risk to them was especially great.
Reflecting on the rapidly changing world of case management
To help assess the changing nature of case management, Heidi Stevens has produced a research protocol, ‘The effectiveness of a case management approach to care for adults who suffer trauma through injury: protocol for a systematic review’. Here, she discusses her aims and ambitions for the protocol, which is set to be released later this month.
What is your background and what are you doing currently? I am an associate public health nutritionist and have just started working on a systematic review for Teesside University investigating weight management interventions for people with severe mental health issues.
Driverless vehicles and injury
The Government has recently indicated that they are intending to consult on changing the law in the near future so as to allow level three automated vehicles on the road, writes David Withers of Irwin Mitchell.
There are six levels of automation: Level 0: The driver performs all of the tasks associated with driving the vehicle; Level 1: Some driving features are included but the driver controls the vehicle; Level 2: The vehicle has automated functions but the driver must monitor the environment and be ready to take control at all times; Level 3: The driver is a necessity but does not need to monitor the environment at all times; Level 4: The vehicle can perform all driving functions under certain conditions; Level 5: The vehicle can perform all driving functions under all conditions.
The purrfect way to share my thoughts
A day in the life of Peggy, the resident feline at Stanley House, Elysium Neurological’s care centre in Herefordshire.
Who said ‘cats have it easy’? It’s really not that simple, after all not all the staff and residents here speak or understand ‘Felis catus’. For those who aren’t acquainted with Latin, the language of all well-educated feline divas, it simply means domestic cat. So you can see how exhausting it can be trying to get my own way, lots of long luxurious rests are the name of this game!
New sentencing guidelines in focus
The guidelines seek to redress this lacuna and are reflective of the broader efforts across society to understand and de-stigmatise such conditions. The guidelines stipulate that “the fact that an offender has an impairment or disorder should always be considered by the court, but will not always have an effect on sentencing”. Each case will be fact specific and an individualistic approach to sentencing is encouraged, taking into account the wide range of disorders and the varying levels of impairment between individuals.
