Opinion

As healthcare professionals, we are always kind, right? We always look at both sides of the argument, never judge others or get frustrated with our clients… Well, maybe not. Of course, we are human and just as easily swayed by our foibles as the next person. However, and this may sound obvious, when working with vulnerable clients and families as we do, there is an even bigger need for kindness to be at the core of our interactions. It was whilst standing in the school yard with my children that I first started to really think about this. We spend maybe five or ten minutes each day in the yard all of the other parents.

Having spent over 20 years as a physiotherapist, I remember the initial problems experienced by patients and healthcare professionals in ensuring an effective joined up approach to rehabilitation. This was especially noticeable as patients moved between stages of recovery in acute centres and then on to rehabilitation in the community.  This gave rise to the initial concept of the Rehabilitation Prescription (RP) a decade ago. Having since retrained as a serious injury lawyer, I see similar issues still affecting my clients today. The RP should set out exactly what treatment is required for an individual in the aftermath of a serious injury, a bespoke approach to each patient’s specific needs.

Swedish innovation the Mollii Suit is helping neuro- rehab patients with a range of conditions to regain lost functions and boost their quality of life, as Richard Welch explains here.

I recently read an article in a British Safety Council publication referencing HSE annual statistics noting that prosecutions for health and safety breaches were at a record low, with 2018/19 prosecutions down by 23 per cent from 2017/18 numbers, and more than a third since 2014/15. Concern was expressed that some employers were prepared to ignore health and safety laws believing that they would never be “caught”. Whilst it has always been the case that some element of employers are prepared to flout health and safety regulations for profit, or simply through recklessness, the concern is whether the proportion prepared to ignore these laws is growing or decreasing; whether the trend is going in the right direction.

A medico-legal expert’s duty is to the Court. They have a duty to be independent. They should have this duty at the forefront of their mind when carrying out their assessment(s) and when preparing their report(s). An expert’s evidence will be completely undermined if it transpires that they are saying what the party who is paying them wants to say unless that is their genuine view. It should go without saying that experts should be courteous to the Claimant and their families both during the assessment and in the report. There is an increase in Claimants seeking to record expert assessments either covertly or overtly.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-GiDOXvU-c Cambridgeshire dad Jason was on holiday in Portugal in 2012 when his life changed forever. A car hit him during an early morning bike ride, breaking his back, legs and ribs and severing his spine. Jason, from Littleport, received treatment for three weeks in Lisbon, before being moved to Cambridge. He then spent a further three months at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. Here specialists gave him the devastating news that he would never walk again. Jason and his family contacted Irwin Mitchell’s specialist serious injury solicitors about making a claim to help fund his ongoing care needs.

A case manager’s role in a seriously injured person recovery cannot be understated, write David Withers, partner at Irwin Mitchell.

When Sarah’s mother was in labour, the hospital staff failed to pick up on what should have been worrying signals coming from the CTG monitor. After experiencing lack of oxygen at birth, Sarah* was diagnosed with mild athetoid cerebral palsy as a baby. By age five she had vision problems and required occasional use of a wheelchair. She could finger feed, although it was somewhat clumsy and her parents had to help her at mealtimes. Liquids also had to be thickened to make drinking easier. Her manual dexterity was poor and she was susceptible to chest infections. The hospital Trust denied liability for Sarah’s injury and so a protracted liability trial followed.

Dysphagia is an all-too common adversary of neuro-rehab patients, and the professionals who care for them. Some studies suggest the swallowing disorder is experienced in as many as 93 per cent of people admitted to brain injury rehab centres (Hansel et al, 2008). It will affect around one in two stroke survivors, according to the Stroke Association, and roughly at least a third of people with MS. Meanwhile, over 80 per cent of people with Parkinson’s may be affected (Suttrup et al, 2016).

If an individual suffers an injury on the road through the negligence of a driver, they will recover compensation.

This is because of the provisions within Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.