Disability

SSAFA Forces Help  

Keeping families closer together

Severely wounded servicemen and women are treated at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham before passing to a rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey.  This process sometimes takes many months and the presence of loved ones can play a crucial role in the healing and recovery process. However, only very basic accommodation was originally provided for visiting families at both locations. At the end of 2006, British operational casualties began to increase significantly in terms of numbers and severity of injuries, which compounded the accommodation issue.
 
SSAFA Forces Help was put in touch with a service wife, whose husband Captain Peter Norton had suffered appalling injuries while serving in Iraq. His young family often lived in bedsits and B&Bs to be close to him. This inspired SSAFA to act and its ‘Homes from Home’ initiative has established two Norton House homes that enable the families of badly injured servicemen and women to be close to them when needed most.

SSAFA decided to purchase and refurbish existing properties rather than go down the route of new build. It launched a £5m appeal to fund this, which formally launched in September 2007 and closed only nine months later having met its target. The home at Headley Court opened in February 2008 and the one in Selly Oak a year later and already more than 300 people have stayed at them. 

Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, who lost both legs and his right arm on Christmas Eve 2007, says: “It is hard putting into words just how much SSAFA has helped us and how grateful we are, but you all should be extremely proud of yourselves and Norton House and we sincerely thank you.”  

Athol Hendry
Director of corporate communications
19 Queen Elizabeth Street
London SE1 2LP
020 7463 9211
www.ssafa.org.uk
Reg no. 210760

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign  

Transforming specialist care provision

There is no national neuromuscular service for patients affected by muscular dystrophy. Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) launched the Building on the Foundations campaign to provide a platform for families to influence decision-making and improve the provision of NHS-funded specialist care.

The need for this initiative was clear from a Freedom of Information request submitted to Primary Care Trusts in England in September 2007 which revealed 74 per cent do not fund a muscle clinic offering a service to adults with neuromuscular conditions.

A decision was made to focus the project in the South West of England initially, based on evidence of inadequate provision resulting in poor patient care. In February 2009, the beneficiary-led MDC South West Muscle Group secured new NHS investment of £1m into neuromuscular services. The new service will directly benefit over 5,000 children and adults affected by muscle disease and their families.

At a national level, the Department of Health agreed to include specialised services for neuromuscular conditions within the revised neuroscience definition published in March 2009. Some 30 clinical experts from across the UK are involved in a MDC working group and have agreed a specialist service specification for muscular dystrophy.

Judges praised a “very cleverly implemented project” while Dave Anderson MP, chair of the all party parliamentary group on muscular dystrophy, says: “The charity’s innovative campaign has been instrumental in securing improvements in care and support for people living with muscle disease. By building coalitions between parliamentarians, families, clinicians and NHS decision-makers, we are now seeing fundamental breakthroughs across the UK. New investment in specialist healthcare is being committed by the NHS to benefit people with neuromuscular conditions, which would not have happened without this expert MDC campaign.”

Robert Meadowcroft
Director of policy and operations
61 Southwark Street
London SE1 OHL
020 7803 4845
www.muscular-dystrophy.org
Reg no. 205395

Visibility  

Introducing a new technique to help people read

The leading cause of visual impairment in the west of Scotland and the developed world is age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). It is the commonest form of blindness in those aged 60 and over. Loss of central vision leads to an inability to carry out basic everyday tasks, increases dependence on others and impacts adversely on an individual’s quality of life.

Accepted wisdom on central vision loss seemed to suggest that it is simply a part of the ageing process and that people have to learn to live with it. However, in 2002 Visibility heard a talk given in Glasgow by two Swedish ophthalmic experts. They had developed a method of “eccentric reading” training, which taught people to use their remaining peripheral vision to regain some functional reading ability. Although this was a new technique, it was based on proven principles of low vision training.

Visibility realised its potential and two staff members travelled to Sweden to see it in action. In 2003 Visibility and Glasgow City Council jointly funded a pilot project. The results were impressive, with clients reporting an increase in reading speeds, improved quality of life and high satisfaction. Being able to read their own bills, bank statements and cooking instructions made a huge difference to their daily lives.

The success of the pilot led to the development of the New View programme, which the judges called “well managed and effective”. In the last five years over 450 people with ARMD have received eccentric reading training. Visibility has measured quality of life indirectly, and from small session focus groups has discovered a very high level of client satisfaction and a dramatic increase in their can-do attitude.

Fiona Sandford
Chief executive
2 Queens Crescent
Glasgow G4 9BW
0141 332 4632
www.visibility.org.uk
Reg no. SCO09738