Brain injury rehabilitation has been driven to crisis point by a perfect COVID-19 storm – destroying NHS capacity and devastating third sector funding, according to a new report by Lake District charity, Calvert Reconnections.
Calvert Reconnections partnered with barristers Exchange Chambers to poll 161 of the country’s most senior brain injury solicitors.
Analysis of the findings reveals that 89% of brain injury specialists believe rehabilitation standards have dropped as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 92% saying that brain injury rehabilitation is going to be more reliant than ever on the private and charitable sectors moving forward.
Alarmingly, 70% of respondents believe that charities are being forced to cut back on support measures for brain injured patients as a result of financially-related COVID-19 pressures.
With social distancing measures likely to remain in place for some months, 91% of respondents anticipate an increase in the use of outdoor activities in the rehabilitation plans for brain injured patients.
Bill Braithwaite QC, Trustee at Calvert Reconnections said: “COVID-19 has driven brain injury rehabilitation to crisis point.
“The NHS is overwhelmed and charities are under severe financial pressure. It is the perfect storm.
“While virtual rehabilitation has plugged the gap, it is not a long-term solution.
“Moving forward, and taking into account COVID-19 considerations such as social distancing, everything points towards brain injury rehabilitation being at its most effective when traditional clinical therapies are combined with physical activity in the outdoors. There is considerable support from medical research for the notion that outdoor activity is beneficial to brain injury rehabilitation.”
Said Femke van Schelven, Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist at Calvert Reconnections: “It is clear that the NHS has had to massively reconfigure services to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We now need to prepare for the incoming tidal wave of need for rehabilitation as we recover from this pandemic – both for those that have had their rehabilitation affected by an over stretched NHS, and for those whose condition has deteriorated during self-isolation and lock down.”
The report is the second research project Calvert Reconnections and Exchange Chambers have commissioned this year. An earlier, pre COVID-19 study, found that the recovery prospects of brain injured patients are being jeopardised by a chronic lack of resources. 71% of 164 brain injury solicitors said that the NHS is unable to provide effective support for brain injured patients while 97% pointed to a lack of residential-based brain injury rehabilitation units in the UK.
Calvert Reconnections has developed the UK’s first COVID-19 compliant brain injury rehabilitation programme combining traditional clinical therapies with physical activity in the outdoors.
Located on the outskirts of Keswick in the Lake District, Calvert Reconnections, run by the Lake District Calvert Trust, is a brand new neuro-rehabilitation, residential centre providing ground-breaking rehabilitation programmes for those who have suffered an acquired brain injury.
With its focus on outdoor activities, Calvert Reconnections is uniquely placed to incorporate social distancing into its programme through activities such as rambling, fell walking, fishing, gardening, horse riding, orienteering, cycling, canoeing and sailing.
The centre’s residential and communal facilities are fully compliant with COVID-19 guidelines while newly developed services include post lockdown respite and post COVID-19 step down rehabilitation.
