Spinal Injury

Having a carer can help in alleviate the stress of your daily routine by assisting you with daily care tasks such as bathing, dressing, and grooming alongside aiding with meal preparation.

Having personal care greatly helps with the prevention of pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers are areas of damage to your skin and the tissue underneath. They can have a major impact on quality of life and if not managed properly they can lead to hospitalisation. Our carers will be on hand to perform daily skin checks (especially around bony parts of the body which are most susceptible for ulcers). They will also make sure you or your loved on are repositioned regularly, ensuring skin is kept, clean, dry, and supple. Maintaining a healthy weight significantly reduces the risk of pressure ulcers, therefore having carers around to assist with meal preparation can help in ensuring you eat a balanced diet.

We work alongside physical and occupational therapists to implement customised rehabilitation plans right in the comfort of your own home. Having us there ensures your rehabilitation process has continuity and consistency, both crucial factors for regaining strength, improving mobility, and enhancing overall functionality.

Following an SCI, the messages sent by the nerves in bowel cannot reach the brain as they did before. This means that stools will pass more slowly through your gut, leading to constipation and you will not get the message telling you it’s time to go to the toilet. After a spinal cord injury bowel movements require more time, thought and planning. A bowel management routine will help avoid incontinence, constipation, and other complications. There is no single bowel management method to suit everyone, which is why we will work with you to create a personalised bowel management programme that can help reduce the risk of experiencing these complications and improve your confidence in social and work situations by putting you back in control.

At Practical Care, we are aware of the heightened risk of mental health issues among individuals with spinal cord injuries, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and PTSD. These conditions often remain hidden beneath the surface, overshadowed by the physical aspects of the injury. Our caregivers are specially trained to recognise not just the outward signs of distress but to understand these as indicators of deeper psychological challenges.

For example, when a person with SCI turns to alcohol, it might not simply be a matter of habit, but a coping mechanism for dealing with uncertainty about their future. Recognising this, we don't just address the behaviour; we delve deeper. By initiating conversations around fears and aspirations, we can uncover the underlying concerns. This insight allows us to propose tailored interventions, such as facilitating access to vocational training programs. These programs do more than just teach skills; they reignite a sense of purpose and boost self-esteem, helping individuals envision a fulfilling life post-injury.

Moreover, our approach to care fosters a nurturing environment where open, trust-based relationships can flourish between caregivers and clients. This dynamic is vital. It ensures that our team can effectively interpret behaviours as communication, opening pathways to address the root causes of distress. Through this comprehensive and empathetic approach, we aim to support not just the physical recovery of our clients but their mental and emotional resilience as well.