Spinal Injuries Scotland

This is an ideal opportunity for spinal injured to be involved in a discussion about future plans of actions by the UK Government to help disabled people reach their full potential.

The UK Government’s Office of Disability discussion with disabled individuals and organisations is an ideal opportunity for everyone with a spinal injury to provide positive and practical advice on what works well for them as well as suggestions on how the Government can make further improvements.

‘The Government’s ambition is to enable disabled people to fulfil their potential and have opportunities to play a full role in society. To realise this ambition, we want to tackle barriers to realising aspirations and individual control, as well as change attitudes and behaviour towards disabled people’                          

The Government is looking for helpful, positive ideas regarding all aspects of living with a spinal injury, whether it is living independently, in education, employment or participating in leisure activities as well as how you feel about others attitudes and behaviour towards disabled people (Newspapers for example).

Taking Part

The more people who take part the more informed the discussion, the stronger our voice, the better any future outcomes.

There are three ways to respond to this discussion (listed below) and to help your response there are twelve questions listed below the response details to help you take part in your own words in the discussion and if you are comfortable with the idea, please send a copy of your ideas to our office so as to help us with our future planning.

Deadline for responses is 5pm on 9 March 2012.

Respond online

https://www2.dwp.gov.uk/odi/disability/disability-strategy-discussion.asp

Email your Response

Through the SIS office info@sisonline.org

Post your Response

Office for Disability Issues (Disability Strategy Team)

Ground Floor, Caxton House,

6-12 Tothill Street

London

SW1H 9NA

The Twelve Questions – Realising Aspirations

1.       What ideas do you have that could make a difference to you in getting an education, getting a job or being able to live independently?

2.       What would help you manage better at times of change in your life?

3.       In those situations, how are you supported or held back by other people?

Individual Control

4.       What helps you to have choice and control over your day-to-day life and the support you get?

5.       What else would help you to have more choice and control over your day-to-day life and the support you get?

6.       What would help you to access services and activities which suit your needs? For example in education, transport, health, social care, and sport, social and recreational activities

7.       How can you be involved in decisions that affect your local area?

Changing Attitudes and Behavior

8.       What works well in changing the way other people treat disabled people?

9.       What else is important in changing the way other people treat disabled people?

10.     What can we do to make sure that everyone recognises the contribution that disabled people can make?

Anything Else

11.     Do you have any suggestions for how we should implement and monitor the Strategy once it is developed?

12.     Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

If you would like further information please go to: 

http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/odi-projects/fulfilling-potential.php/

A massive Thank You for taking part, your views count and collectively we can bring about change.

It is with great sadness that the death is announced of Stephen Bradshaw, founder member and first Director of the Spinal Injuries Association. A leading figure in the disability movement, Stephen died on 6 February in Stoke Mandeville Hospital after a short illness.

Stephen became spinal cord injured in 1967 when he broke his neck in a diving accident. Following rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville, during which time he competed successfully at the Paralympics, winning a number of Gold Medals, he resumed his career in the print industry. In 1974, he became a founder member of the newly emerging Spinal Injuries Association. Two years later, he became its first Executive Director, a position he held until 1995 when took on the role of the Association’s Director of Public Affairs. He remained in this role until he retired in 2001.

Stephen’s contribution to the disability movement was immense. On behalf of SIA, he was instrumental in the establishment of the British Council of Disabled People, now the United Kingdom Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC). He chaired the Rights Now! Campaign to fight for anti-discrimination legislation and his knowledge, negotiating skills, sense of fair play and ability to communicate at all levels made him a popular and well-known figure in the disability world.

Stephen’s funeral will be held at Golders Green Crematorium on Friday 24 February 2012 at 11.00am. The family request no flowers but, if wished, donations in lieu can be made to the Spinal Injuries Association.

Spinal Injuries Association (SIA)

It is designed to provide information and support by connecting families suddenly faced with a spinal cord injury with the real-life experiences of others who have been there before them.

It took so long because the website has more than 1,000 videos drawn from personal interviews with people who have spinal cord injuries, their families, caregivers and experts in the field.

Although the website is based on people’s experience in the USA I am sure people from different countries can identify with other people’s experiences.

CLICK HERE to view the Facing Disability website (Facing Disability is a web resource with more than 1,000 videos drawn from interviews of people with spinal cord injuries, their families, caregivers and experts.)

Access to the SIS Office has been improved by the installation of a new power assisted door.

Hopefully this will encourage members to stop by the office for a chat when they’re in the area.

We are based not far from the Southern General Hospital at Festival Business Centre, 150 Brand Street, Govan G51 1DH, and are always happy to receive visitors.

Regular readers of the blog and Newsline magazine will know that we have a huge year ahead of us in 2012. As always we are looking for our members to share their views and contributions. As well as continuing with our Outreach Clinics across the country and our weekly visits to the Queen Elizabeth Spinal Injuries Unit, we will be looking to meet and hear from more of our members and indeed anyone interested in SIS.

We have begun preparing a project to update and refresh the main SIS website and we would encourage any interested SIS members to send us their thoughts on what they would like to see. Are there sections you would like to find out more about? Are there functions you feel we could add to improve your use of the site?

Work on Clober Farm is under way and we hope to have this ready to welcome our first guests in the Spring. Please keep up to date with all of the developments on the dedicated Clober Farm section of this site. Updates and images will be posted every fortnight. If you receive Newsline through the post you should have received a questionnaire card to register your views and specific areas of interest. If you would like to receive a copy of this please let us know your preferred format. If you would like to find out more about using Clober Farm, don’t hesitate to contact the SIS Office.

If any of our readers, registered members, or members of the general public would like to find out more about what we have scheduled for 2012 please get in touch through the office.

info@sisonline.org

After 47 years service with the NHS, Clinical Services Manager Mrs Margaret McKillop MBE will be retiring this month. All at SIS wish her the very best for the future and thank her for the support and guidance she has given us and our members over the years.

Driving in winter is challenging at the best of times but if you are in the car and are unfortunate to be caught on a flooded or snow covered road hopefully the following preparations will help you.

How do you deal with bladder control? Do you use intermittent catheters or do you have a leg bag that will require emptying?

Carry extra catheters in the car with you, not only in your bag but in the car just in case you need to use more than you would normally carry with you. It might also be worth carrying a couple of overnight drainage bags in case you have to empty a leg bag or use with a catheter.

You might think you are going to loose dignity by using a catheter in the car but I am sure this would be far better than having an accident.

Remember to take the overnight bag out of the vehicle with you when you leave as you don’t want that freezing overnight.

If you use medication, carry spare medication in your car but remember to change it regularly as it will go out of date.

Carry a blanket or extra clothing in the car as you might get into a situation where you are not able to keep the car running so extra clothes will help keep you warmer than you would have been.

Keep a spare pair of warm gloves in the car for occasion like this as well but if you use them, remember to put them back.

Always carry something to drink with you but be careful not to leave full bottles in the car as they might freeze over night and possibly burst. This not only means that you have lost your drink but you might also have soaked the car.

Always carry an ice scraper in the car with you as well as de-icer as you never know how quickly a frost can set in. You can get ice scrapers with extended handles on them to help reach the centre of the screen and some have brushes on as well to help clear snow off your car.

If you are able to, check your washer bottle is topped up in the car with plenty of screen wash added. Most screen washes have an anti freeze agent added to them so this will hopefully stop the windscreen from freezing up after it has been defrosted.

These are only a few things I have done over the years but if you have any more tips that other could benefit from, please let us know.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list by any means so feel free to get in touch with any tips you have and we can share them with others.

THIS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY (14TH & 15TH SEPTEMBER)

AT NAIDEX SCOTLAND, SECC,GLASGOW

OPENING TIMES:  10am-4pm BOTH DAYS

FREE ENTRY to FIND OUT MORE ABOUT

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES AND ADAPATIONS, LIVING AIDS, HYGIENE, CLOTHING, COMMUNICATION, SAFETY, FURNITURE, LEISURE, HOLIDAYS

AS WELL AS

A seminar presentation by SIS about making sense of welfare support from a historic perspective (personal account) as well as challenging some of the statistical and factual data supporting the welfare reforms, with some light hearted humour to emphasis inconsistencies in the proposals.

Register for FREE ENTRY at www.naidex.co.uk/scotland2011