Labour MP Chris Bryant asked the Prime Minister if she will bring together ministers to look at the rehabilitation needs of people living with ABI, given the lack of specialist rehabilitation services across the country.
He asked: “Well over a million people in this country are living with the consequences of acquired brain injury and the great news is that, thanks to the government’s new trauma centres, 600 extra lives are being saved every single year. That is brilliant. The problem is, many of these people are having their lives saved but they are not getting the rehabilitation support that can get them to live independent lives all over again. Miracles can be done but half the units have no rehabilitation consultant at all.
“So will the Prime Minister please get together all the ministers who have responsibility in this area, not just health but the MOD, the justice system which is heavily impacted, the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions, to make sure that every single person who has an acquired brain injury in this country gets the full rehabilitation that they need?”
The Prime Minister responded, saying: “The honourable gentleman has raised a very important point, and as he may know there are two ways in which these services will be commissioned. NHS England commissions specialist neurological rehabilitation centres for complex brain injury, and they do that at a national level, but more routine rehabilitation is provided and commissioned locally. NHS England also sets out a series of guidance for those commissioners to support delivery including for brain injury. But he has raised a very important point and I will ask the Health Secretary to respond to him and take up the issues in the specific question he has raised.”
Headway’s Public Affairs Manager Clare Mills was contacted by the MP’s office ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions. She said: “It was good to be able to talk through the issues around rehabilitation needs and provide information to Mr Bryant. The patchy provision of neurological rehabilitation services is having a serious negative impact on some patients’ chances of making a good recovery.
“We will continue to push for specialist service improvements for brain injury survivors.”
Watch the exchange on Parliament.tv
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