Acquired Brain Injury Debated in Parliament

Posted by Elliot Miller

22nd June 2018

By Elliot Miller and Chloe Nunan

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) was debated in the House of Commons on Monday 18^th June, 2018. The debate was led by Chris Bryant and John Hayes – MP’s for the Rhondda and South Holland and the Deepings respectively – along with many others, to discuss a range of issues affecting people with ABI, and their families and carers. There has never been a debate about brain injury in the House of Commons and so this was a historic event.

ABI is any injury to the brain which has occurred following birth and can be mild, moderate or severe. ABI’s include Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) following trauma e.g. a road traffic accident, and non-Traumatic Brain Injuries (non-TBIs) related to medical conditions e.g. encephalitis. An estimated 956 people, or 1 person every 90 seconds, are admitted to hospital with ABI every day. This has huge implications for the healthcare system, costing the UK economy around £15 billion per year – which is equivalent to 10% of the annual NHS budget.

Presently, there are a number of areas requiring urgent attention, despite Government funding, including the following which were discussed in the debate:

• The need for treatment, neurorehabilitation and support for those living with ABI;
• The welfare of ABI survivors and those supporting them;
• The education for professionals, family/carers,and those in everyday life about how to look after someone with ABI, and the effects on the individual themselves;
• The importance of a collaborative approach between health, social care and education services in developing care plans – with mandatory training – to support individuals with ABI;
• The improvement of brain injury screening and support within the criminal justice system, in order to prevent a cycle of re-offending behaviour through the use of neurorehabilitation with a trained Linkworker team; and
• The implementation of an education campaign in school to raise awareness and understanding of concussion in sport, and collaboration between sport, Government and medical associations in order to improve healthcare professionals’ management and knowledge of sport-related concussion.

Overall, the message is clear; there is an urgent need for Government intervention to address the varying levels of care and support needed for those dealing with the effects of ABI. This can only be achieved via a collaborative effort from across various taskforces. Although this will require a great deal of work over time, the debate has helped to highlight key areas that are in need of increased funding and research.

To read the Hansard report click here