Families and charities have united behind the campaign against the planned closure of a specialist neurological rehabilitation centre, which would be a “backward step” in delivering the bespoke support so badly needed by brain injury survivors.
A consultation has been launched by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to consider the closure of the Oliver Zangwill Centre, which provides neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation for adults with an acquired brain injury.
The centre – which supports people aged 16 to 64 who have non-progressive brain injury and require cognitive rehabilitation – has been hailed by countless families as being a lifeline, which has enabled their loved one to make a recovery beyond expectations.
Each year, in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area alone, around 4,000 people are admitted to hospital with an acquired brain injury diagnosis, with thousands more in surrounding areas.
However, the CCG claims that referrals to the neuro-rehab centre have fallen in recent years.
But charities have opposed the closure proposals, arguing that neuro-rehab and brain injury support provision should be made a priority in light of the Government’s announcement that it will create an ABI strategy, in response to a campaign for it to do so.
Chloe Hayward, executive director of UKABIF, told NR Times: “On the one hand, we have the acquired brain injury strategy being developed by the Government, which we hope will take steps to ensure people have the access they need to support and neuro-rehabilitation, but then on the other we have this amazing internationally-renowned service facing closure.
“The Oliver Zangwill Centre has produced some fantastic professionals who work in this field, as well as helping people and their families to access amazing care, but now we are told this will have to be picked up by charities and the independent sector. This is not something that can happen; charities just cannot provide this level of specialist rehabilitation and the independent sector, although providing great services may not have sufficient availability in this area.
“We have seen it before with the closure of other services, where overnight they disappear and there is nothing to replace it. The Oliver Zangwill Centre is very specialist and takes particularly complex referrals from as far afield as Greater London, which shows the need for its services. We fear its closure could be a catastrophe for neuro-rehab provision for so many families.”
Peter McCabe, chief executive of brain injury charity Headway, said: “We are appalled that this highly-regarded NHS service may be closed.
“Neurorehabilitation remains one of the most cost-effective forms of treatment available to the NHS.
“It can increase a brain injury survivor’s independence, reduce the need for costly ongoing state support for either the survivor or their carers, and even enable a return to employment for some.
“And yet access to neurological rehabilitation on the NHS remains patchy, inconsistent and in short supply across the UK.
“The loss of this specialist NHS centre may signal a move towards privatisation, with brain injury survivors and their families paying the greatest price.
“Patients would be sent to specialist units further from home, making it hard for their loved ones to play a supportive role in their rehabilitation, while those not able to claim personal injury compensation payments made find it harder to obtain referrals and therefore denied access to crucial rehabilitation.”
Amanda Hymus’ son Haydn was helped by the Oliver Zangwill Centre after he sustained a traumatic brain injury in a cycling accident in 2018.
Haydn had part of his skull removed to relieve pressure on his brain caused by swelling. He was in a coma for two weeks before beginning the
Brain injury survivor Haydn
gruelling process of relearning some of life’s most basic skills.
“The support provided by the Oliver Zangwill Centre has been exceptional,” said Amanda.
“They provided speech therapy to help with Haydn’s aphasia and they’re helping him relearn how to read and write.
“They delivered training sessions to staff at Haydn’s college to help them better understand the effects of brain injury and how to support him with the challenges he faces.
“They even help him to become more independent by assisting him to travel by bus to the centre for his rehabilitation sessions.
“The support they have also provided to me as the mother of a brain injury survivor has been invaluable and enabled me to keep going.
“It would be an absolute travesty for people not to have access to the services this specialist centre provides as there is really nothing quite like it.
“We would have been totally lost without them and Haydn would still be trying to get to grips with life and how in fact to even live.
“His mental health has improved leaps and bounds and he feels that he can again contribute to life and live as a whole person.”
A consultation is underway on the future of the Oliver Zangwill Centre. To express your support:
- Fill in the survey online
- Email views to: capccg.contact@nhs.net
- Telephone 03 300 571 030
