Lack of beds cause delays in treatment for paralysed patients

Suffering a spinal injury is a life-changing event but the recent Sky News article has highlighted how such tragic injuries can be made worse for the individual as a result of a lack of suitable beds and care.

Here at PotterReesDolan, we specialise in assisting patients who have suffered permanent spinal injuries either through accidents or as a result of inadequate care. As a solicitor specialising in clinical negligence, I have worked with a number of our clients who have not received the necessary care and treatment they require in relation to a back or neck injury and as a result they have been left with a permanent spinal injury, often paralysed and reliant on a wheelchair for the rest of their lives.

It seems a commonly accepted position that early intervention gives the patient the best possible chance of recovery and in spinal injury even the smallest level of recovery can make the difference between being able to care for yourself in some ways and being totally reliant on others.

The fact that spinal injury patients are therefore facing significant waits of many months for a suitable bed in a specialist unit is really worrying as those patients are being denied access not only to a bed but also to all the specialist knowledge and therapeutic treatment which would be available to them in those specialists beds.

The Sky News article also commented on the fact that whilst waiting for a specialist bed to become available, many spinal injury patients are being cared for on inappropriate wards by medical teams who are not familiar with the needs of spinal cord injury. This can result in patients who have already suffered a massive life changing injury developing things such as pressure sores which are completely avoidable with the right care. It can also result, as highlighted in the article, in patients who suffer significant pain associated with spasms not being recognised as being in pain which is just too horrible a situation to really think about.

Specialist spinal injury units are vital for patients with any kind of spinal injury as they provide the specialist medical and therapeutic input needed to help the patient recover as much as possible but can also stop any further deterioration which is something I know can happen when patients are not treated properly on wards unfamiliar with their condition. I hope that the crowdfunding scheme is therefore successful and more beds can be made available at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital for spinal injury patients so no-one has to suffer or deteriorate further than they already have.

Hannah Bottomley is a clinical negligence solicitor with PotterReesDolan. Should you have any queries about clinical negligence issues and wish to speak with Hannah or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888 or complete one of our online contact forms and we will come back to you.