A major new campaign launched on 19 February, calling for an end to the postcode lottery for NHS rehabilitation services that help people recover from the likes of car crashes, cancer or strokes.
The UK’s largest and longest-standing membership body for chiropractors joins forces with over 30 healthcare organisations and former Top Gear presenter and rehab patient, Richard Hammond, calling for universal access to patient rehabilitation. There is currently no guaranteed access to this vital care and the campaign is calling for life-changing NHS rehab services to be made available to everyone in the UK, no matter where they live.
The BCA prides itself on raising awareness about the rigour, relevance and evidence of chiropractic, and showing how it can be integral to the UK healthcare system. By supporting this campaign, the BCA is showcasing how chiropractic care can support both rehab patients on their healthcare journey and wider healthcare organisations and peers when treating patients with musculoskeletal conditions.
Alongside the BCA, the campaign is also supported by more than 30 healthcare charities, royal colleges and professional bodies such as, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), the British Geriatric Society, Asthma+Lung UK and the Stroke Association who are all members of the Community Rehabilitation Alliance.
The campaign, created by intensive care rehabilitation nurse, Kate Tantam, and her multi-professional team, alongside independent creative agency, Pablo, celebrates patients’ ‘firsts’ since hospitalisation – the first tentative footsteps or first halting words – monumental milestones for those lucky enough to receive specialist rehabilitation care.
The patients’ first steps are now on billboards around the UK and the re-learned voice is a radio ad with a voiceover from Richard Hammond who himself needed many months of specialist rehabilitation after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a high-speed crash whilst filming Top Gear in 2006. You can hear the ad here.
Actor Stephen Fry who needed rehabilitation after breaking his leg, pelvis and several ribs in a fall from a stage at the O2, is also supporting the campaign.
He said: “I had a very nasty fall from a 6ft high stage onto concrete. The orthopaedic surgeon warned me that people who had fallen from lesser heights had never walked again. I feel very lucky to be able to walk again which is why I’m supporting this campaign to make rehabilitation services available no matter where you live. Rehabilitation is just as important as medicine and surgery in helping people reclaim their lives after injury, illness or because of long-term conditions. Everyone deserves access to rehabilitation, and I back this campaign to have rehab reps in every hospital to ensure everyone gets the get the right help at the right time.”
Pablo worked with patients like Paul, who suffered a motorbike accident that fractured his vertebrae, leaving him unable to walk, Adrian, whose sore toe led to leg amputation and Jo, a lover of the outdoors, who suffered a paralysing stroke while walking in the countryside. To read their full stories, click here.
Rehabilitation, including Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Specialist Nutritional Support, plays a vital role in helping people recover after an accident or illness, such as a stroke, cancer or car crash. But shockingly, millions of people don’t have access to NHS rehab services in their area.
What’s more, many of the available local services are underutilised. A specific focus is needed on how private sector healthcare professionals can support their colleagues in the public sector – through working in local communities and providing joined up care plans. Specialist primary healthcare professionals, such as chiropractors, have a wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise regarding musculoskeletal injury, strength and rehabilitation programmes, yet often work completely independently in private clinics. There’s huge opportunity for the public sector and Government to better utilise resources to support patients and provide expert, person-centred care for all.
When patients don’t have access to rehab, it can slow or halt their recovery, damaging their quality of life and mental health, and causing lasting disability, distress and deterioration of health. Quality rehab takes a multidisciplinary team effort, from chiropractors, physiotherapists, nurses, speech and language therapists, support workers, occupational therapists and psychologists, all playing a major role in a patient’s recovery.
The statistics are shocking:
- For stroke victims, rehabilitation can reduce the risk of a further stroke by 35% and enable people to regain their independence, but fewer than 1 in 3 get the help they need.
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbations are the 2nd largest cause of emergency hospital admissions. Rehabilitation reduces admissions by 14% and hospital bed days by 50% but less than 40% of eligible people are offered it.
- Cardiovascular disease accounts for 1 million hospital admissions per year, 100,000 of these are due to heart attacks. Rehabilitation prevents the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart attacks. Yet only 50% of eligible patients receive it. There would be 50,000 fewer hospital admissions if access was 85%.
Kate Tantam, ICU rehabilitation nurse and founder of #RehabLegend said: “Rehabilitation gets our patients back to the people and things that they love. Their goals might not seem big – to hold their grandson, to make a cup of tea, to go to the loo on their own, to say ‘I love you’ – but they are mountains to climb if you can’t move your arms or legs or have lost the power of speech.
Rehabilitation gives people back the lives they have lost. I hope this campaign helps persuade NHS leaders across the UK to provide much needed rehab services.”
The campaign directs people to PetitionForRehab.com, where they can sign a petition calling for rehab to be made available everywhere and for a named rehab lead to be appointed on every hospital trust and board in the UK. There is also a campaign profile created on Instagram, where the vast array of content generated from this work will be shared over the coming days. Follow @righttorehabcampaign for more information.
Speaking about the importance of rehabilitation, BCA Board Member and World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Public Health Representative for the UK, Faye Deane, said: “Rehabilitation is an essential health service for anyone with a condition, acute or chronic, which limits their functioning. There is a common misconception that rehabilitation is only for patients with disabilities or long-term or physical impairments, resulting in a large proportion of the population with unmet rehabilitative health needs.
As healthcare practitioners who are patient-centred, chiropractors recognise that rehabilitation does far more than simply restore a patient’s functional disability – it addresses the impact of a health condition on a patient’s quality of life, their ability to work, and their interpersonal relationships. It is a human dignity which should be recognised and afforded to all.”
The World Federation of Chiropractic, in official relations with the World Health Organisation as a non-state actor, actively supports the WHO Rehabilitation 2030 Alliance which emphasises that rehabilitation should be accessible to all patients throughout the life course and that:
- It is an essential health service required for universal health coverage.
- It should be integrated across sector and all levels of healthcare.
- Rehabilitation service delivery models should provide equitable access to those who need it.
- A strong multidisciplinary rehabilitation workforce should be developed.
- Networks and partnerships in rehabilitation should be established and strengthened.
The healthcare system organisational structure is changing nationally for musculoskeletal health, leaning towards an integrated, multidisciplinary, coordinated approach. As such, chiropractors are perfectly placed to work collaboratively within the communities they serve, acting as advocates for public health, raising awareness of and supporting public health initiatives, such as this from the WHO, at a community level.
Speaking about how chiropractors can help tackle this major issue, BCA President, Tim Button, said: “Chiropractors can often be the first port of call for patients experiencing painful musculoskeletal conditions which require a rehabilitative approach to care. By integrating rehabilitation into primary care, chiropractors can positively impact healthcare systems by providing a ready ensembled workforce, well educated in the field of rehabilitation. This can reduce the number of hospitalisations and re-admissions required by increasing coverage and access to services.
Chiropractors also benefit from being able to provide continuity of care over a long period of time, allowing for the development of a long-term relationship between a patient and a provider. This helps foster an environment of trust, understanding and respect. Chiropractors need to develop and maintain positive communication channels with other healthcare providers in their local communities to enable building awareness of service provision and openness to collaboration.”
The billboards are live in seven cities throughout the UK and the radio ads are being played nationwide. Some OOH Media has been donated by Jack Arts. Radio airtime was secured by YOU Agency.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Jessica Alexander pablo@pumpkin.uk.com / 07795533229
Chloe Kay kayc@csp.org.uk
Lauren Connors connorsl@csp.org.uk
