Hull brain injury charity formalises NHS partnership with new hospital contract

A Hull-based charity supporting people with brain injuries has been awarded an honorary contract with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTHT), marking a formal step in a partnership that began almost a decade ago.

The agreement enables Paul Spence, founder and CEO of P.A.U.L For Brain Recovery, and Nathalie Martin, the charity’s service delivery manager, to serve as charity advisers on the neurosurgery and neuro trauma wards (wards 4 and 40) at Hull Royal Infirmary, as well as the complex rehabilitation ward at Castle Hill Hospital. They will work as part of NHS Humber Health Partnership.

The announcement, reported by Hull Live, coincides with Spence’s tenth year of supporting patients and families on the neurosurgery and neuro trauma wards at Hull Royal Infirmary.

He began volunteering in 2015, three years after sustaining a serious brain injury himself, using his lived experience to offer hope and reassurance to others facing similar challenges.

Over time, the partnership between the hospital trust and the charity has developed, with P.A.U.L For Brain Recovery now supporting the care pathway by providing post-discharge community support for brain injury patients and their families across Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire, and North and North-East Lincolnshire.

Nurse champions have been appointed on wards 4 and 40 at Hull Royal Infirmary to help raise awareness of the service, and the charity’s information materials are available at both hospital sites.

These efforts have contributed to strengthening the charity’s reputation at both Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, helping build a meaningful and supportive partnership.

Spence said: “There are various members of the neurosurgery and neuro trauma wards to whom I’m extremely grateful.

“Their support during the early days of my recovery, volunteering and recognising the need for a service like the charity provides, really boosted my confidence.

“With patient care and safety being of the utmost importance, the charity is honoured to work alongside frontline healthcare professionals, who do an amazing job. I can’t thank them enough.”

Stacy Dixon, charge nurse on ward 4, said: “Since Paul and Nathalie began visiting and chatting with our patients, we have noticed a huge difference in their psychological wellbeing.

They visit patients with injuries in wards 4 and 40 every Tuesday.

“Their visits provide patients with an opportunity to talk about any concerns or worries, which helps lift a huge weight off their shoulders. We are truly grateful for this service and love seeing how much it benefits both patients and their families.”

Paul Johnson, a nurse on ward 4, added: “Having been there himself, Paul knows that it’s not just about a medical recovery; patients who have experienced brain injury have a whole host of physical, emotional, financial and psychological needs to try and balance too.

“The charity provides so much support in this respect, beyond that which the NHS is able to offer—even the smaller things which help patients to cope again in the wider world.

“It’s not just about patients with a brain injury either; they consider the needs of their families and loved ones too, and this is so important when a patient is recovering from this kind of injury and preparing for discharge.”

Spence said the awarding of the contract reinforced the importance of having charity advisers present on the wards to speak with patients and families affected by brain injury.

He said the service would continue to evolve in line with the needs of patients, families and clinical staff.