Insight

NRT: What does your job involve? CP: Our team deals exclusively with claims on behalf of people who are injured somewhere other than in their home country. We predominantly represent English people who are injured on holiday or working abroad, but sometimes we represent claimants from other countries injured here in England and Wales. We deal with cross-border litigation, where we often have to consider whether a different country’s laws might apply or govern the claim. Sometimes there’s a choice as to where you bring the claim, and there are often arguments about which law will determine how much compensation a claimant can expect to receive.

A recent report published by Neurological Alliance member charity Sue Ryder revealed that more than 15,000 people in England with complex neurological conditions such as head injury, motor neurone disease, MS, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, are living in old people’s nursing homes.This is shocking news and yet another case of the UK’s ‘postcode lottery’ in which access to health services and medical treatments is determined by the area of the country in which individuals live. Is it not ethically wrong to hide an articulate young person with motor neurone disease trapped in a dying body or a middle-aged man with a brain injury acquired in a road traffic accident in a setting inappropriate to their age and without a care plan or rehabilitation prescription?

With the average life expectancy in the UK on the rise, more and more care homes are taking shape all over the country. These facilities cater to people of all abilities and the equipment they choose to include can make all the difference in delivering consistently high-quality care. One key obstacle in any nursing home is creating a homely, cosy facility is patient lifting hoists. These are necessary if you are needing to carry out transfers to and from different locations, but they can often feel quite cold and clinical – precisely the opposite of what you would want your care home to feel like.

There are many specialisms within the field of practice, from those which are linked to long- term neurological conditions such as stroke to life-limiting neurological conditions including Huntington’s disease and neurotrauma from a brain or spinal injury. Due to the variations between specialisms, one of the core elements of care for any neuroscience nurse is the person-centred approach. Most people with long-term neurological conditions can live fulfilling lives, whether this be in a hospital or care setting, and central to their fulfilment is the understanding of their wants and needs.

Seizures may occur after traumatic brain injury; these are known as post-traumatic seizures (PTS). However, not everyone who has post-traumatic seizures will continue to have post-traumatic epilepsy, because the latter is a chronic condition. The terms PTS and PTE are used interchangeably in medical literature with post-traumatic epilepsy is defined as two or more seizures, thought to be related to the injury itself, that follow a traumatic injury occurring later than one week following the injury. Patients with TBI are at higher risk for the development of epilepsy relative to the  general population.

Chris Bryant (Rhondda, Lab) and chair of the debate opened the session by outlining the obvious and more hidden forms of brain injury. “Sometimes a brain injury is really obvious – where the skull has been fractured or penetrated—but often the sheer force of the soft tissue colliding at speed against the hard inside of the skull bruises the brain, leading to a contusion or a haemorrhage that is outwardly invisible. “Injuries can also be caused by stroke, tumours, infection, carbon monoxide exposure and hypoxia—oxygen starvation. These are hidden injuries with complex and fluctuating life-changing effects that strike close to the heart of what it is to be human, to be conscious, to be alive and, in many cases, to want to be alive.”

High above the M25, a buzzard cuts through the December sky. Scanning the tarmac below, it spots something edible and begins its rapid descent. At ground level, Michelle Munt is driving her smart car, completely unaware that her life is about to change forever. Traffic ahead suddenly slows. She takes her foot off the gas. The lorry behind should be slowing too. But in those crucial seconds of reaction, the buzzard has smashed beak-first into its windscreen. The driver can’t see the road, or Michelle, and sends her relative tin can of a car flying into the crash barrier.

Having built a career as an occupational therapist in London and then Chicago, Janet R. Douglas’s life was turned upside down after suffering a massive stroke. It resulted in her spending the next decade overcoming physical and mental challenges to become a new version of herself.

From her experiences the book, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck: From Occupational Therapist to Patient and Beyond, was born, detailing the huge impact of a stroke from Janet’s unique dual perspective as both therapist and patient. In her memoirs, she examines the effects of brain damage on personal identity and relationships, and how the noticeable disabilities a stroke causes are only part of the struggle.

When Michael J Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease aged only 29, the world was shocked to see a high-profile celebrity struck down with such a cruel condition. At the time, few probably realised that Parkinson’s could affect someone so young. Again, when Muhammad Ali revealed he had the condition, diagnosed aged 42, there was widespread anguish at his plight at being diagnosed at such a young age. But the harsh reality is that, while these two cases attracted huge attention, this is happening to people around the world every day. Figures from Parkinson’s UK suggest a rising population with the condition  - currently standing at 145,000, with 1,757 people aged under 50 living with the disease.

Josh Wintersgill was enjoying a drink by a Tenerife pool when the entrepreneurial spark hit him. He been pondering how to make travelling easier for people with disabilities; a quandary close to his heart. Josh, now 25, has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type three – a progressive muscle wastage condition affecting every muscle in the body. His physical capabilities have reduced with age and, since age nine, he has required a wheelchair on a daily basis. Yet Josh loves travelling and so has experienced the often-undignified, stressful and uncomfortable process of being transferred on and off aircraft. In the Canary Island sunshine he imagined a device that would bring an end to the barriers of air travel for many people with reduced physical mobility.