From Awareness to Action: Ten Years of Progress in Spinal Cord Injury Support

What is SCI Day and why does it matter?

Spinal Cord Injury Day was established to raise global awareness of the causes, impact and prevention of spinal cord injury, while championing the rights of people living with SCI to access rehabilitation, specialist healthcare and community support.

The scale of spinal cord injury in the UK

Recent NHS-supported data analysis, produced in collaboration with the National Spinal Cord Injury Database, Back Up and the Spinal Injuries Association, suggests that around 4,400 people are newly injured or diagnosed with a spinal cord injury in the UK every year — roughly double the number previously estimated.

This equates to approximately one person becoming paralysed every two hours. As a result, the estimated number of people currently living with spinal cord injury in the UK is around 105,000.

Spinal cord injury can affect anyone, at any age. Around 2% of new cases occur in children under 14, while approximately 5% occur in adults over 80, demonstrating that SCI is not solely a working-age or sporting injury but one that can affect people throughout their lives.

How Premium Care Solutions supports people living with spinal cord injury

Premium Care Solutions supports people living with spinal cord injury by delivering compassionate, person-centred complex care that promotes dignity, independence and long-term wellbeing.

Our support is tailored around each individual’s circumstances and may include respiratory care, tracheostomy care, mobility support, personal care, rehabilitation goals, education, family life and supporting people to access and participate in their communities.

We work closely with individuals, their families and the wider multidisciplinary team to develop care packages that reflect each person’s clinical needs, personal goals and aspirations.

Working alongside leading spinal cord injury charities

Premium Care Solutions is proud to be an Approved Trusted Partner of the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) and a corporate member of Back Up, two organisations dedicated to supporting people affected by spinal cord injury.

These relationships reflect our commitment to the SCI community and our shared ambition to help people affected by spinal cord injury live as independently as possible, with access to high-quality care, rehabilitation and support.

Specialist care for children and young people

Our children and young people’s service is overseen by our paediatric clinician, Claire Stickley, supported by dedicated Registered Sick Children’s Nurses (RSCNs) and assistant care managers specialising in the care of children and young people.

Claire has more than 20 years of experience, including working as a deputy sister on an NHS high-dependency ward supporting children with highly complex healthcare needs, followed by five years supporting children and young people within the community.

With this in-house clinical expertise, PCS provides specialist complex care that enables children and young people to live safely and as independently as possible at home, while also supporting them to attend school, nursery, after-school clubs and participate in family and community life.

We work closely with every child or young person and their family to deliver personalised care that promotes safety, development, independence and quality of life.

All staff supporting children and young people receive high-quality training led by our paediatric clinician, with bespoke training programmes developed around each individual’s specific clinical and care needs.

A pivotal moment in Parliament

This year’s anniversary lands at a particularly significant moment. As the Health Bill reaches its final Commons stages, MPs are currently considering amendments that could shape the future of specialist spinal cord injury services across England. The SIA has been working throughout the Bill’s passage to ensure that as NHS structures and commissioning arrangements evolve, specialist SCI care doesn’t become fragmented or dependent on where someone happens to live.

Among the issues under consideration are stronger national oversight of specialised services, greater transparency around access, outcomes and waiting times, more consistent national standards, and a meaningful role for people with lived experience in shaping how the NHS changes. These are exactly the principles that underpin good complex care: consistency, accountability and a genuinely person-centred approach, regardless of geography.

Marking ten years of SCI Day with continued action

As SCI Day marks its tenth anniversary, Premium Care Solutions remains committed to supporting people living with spinal cord injury and helping individuals achieve greater independence, choice and quality of life.

Awareness is important, but meaningful change comes through action — ensuring people affected by spinal cord injury have access to the specialist care, rehabilitation and support they need to live life on their own terms.

If you or a loved one has been affected by spinal cord injury and would like to discuss a tailored complex care package, get in touch with Premium Care Solutions today.

T: 01536 213680 E: adehal@premium-care.co.uk