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British doctor backed by personal injury solicitors after research into psycho-social issues
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) have been described as 'condemning sufferers to life sentences' by specialist UK solicitors, after hearing the grim findings on SCI care, by Doctor Brett Smith.
Dr Smith is a Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University and for over 15 years, has tirelessly researched the psycho-social issues attached to disability. His recent publication on spinal cord injuries and how victims are coping with everyday life revealed 60 per cent of sufferers living in care homes have considered suicide.
This single statistic was etched into the mind of Allison O'Reilly, Chief Operating Officer for Spencers Solicitors, after she attended a meeting in the House of Lords, where Dr Smith spoke on behalf of Aspire (a charity dedicated to supporting SCI victims in Britain).
Allison reported on Dr Smith's findings about suicide:'One of the sufferers succeeded in turning off his ventilator, only to be saved by staff. When they came to investigate what had happened, he was too scared to reveal what he'd done. Dr Smith's evidence was of SCI victims nationwide feeling as if they'd been condemned to life sentences, so poorly cared for were they in care homes/i>'
Dr Smith and his team went out and interviewed 20 SCI victims who had experienced life in a British care home. Allison's account of things alone is enough to get a grasp of how sad the reality is for these people. Hopefully, the quality of treatment will be reformed now more commanding figures are bolstering Dr Smith's main points:
- Any disabled person is entitled to suitable housing under the Human Rights Act - SCI victims are currently not receiving this at all.
- Placing someone in care for 24 months is more expensive than adapting their own homes or accommodating people into social housing.
- Employers do not recruit people who are living in care. Helping SCI victims to adapt their homes and live their lives privately could mean they find work. As by-products, this would see people contributing to the economy and feeling much better about themselves as part of society.
- If any one of us was in an accident tomorrow, they could be facing life in a care home simply because they can't afford to adjust their current living conditions. Simply as a human being, it is difficult to see an argument against Dr Smith's campaign. Allison O'Reilly fully shares his view and alongside her duty to help injured persons secure spinal injury compensation, it looks as though she will be joining the campaign from an awareness-raising angle. The lawyer was recently quoted by Spencers Solicitors Director, John Spencer, in a passionate blog on the subject:'Will things change for SCI victims? I hope so – but only if we can make their plight better known'