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Newly Injured?
Quick Guide
If you are newly injured, you will no doubt be feeling extremely anxious and confused. Nothing can prepare you for the mixture of emotions you will currently be experiencing, and the anxiety of worrying about how you will ever cope with everyday activities again. No doubt you have a multitude of questions to ask but don’t quite know where to start…
The Spinal Injuries Association is a user-led organisation run by, and for, spinal cord injured people to assist those with similar disabilities to return to an everyday life following injury. Listed below are some of the services available to help you and your family
- Freephone Advice Line (0800 980 0501)
- This is accessible by email, post, telephone and online. We can provide accurate and up-to-date information on subjects such as housing, education, aids and equipment, welfare benefits, mobility and transport, sexuality, parenthood, and much more.
- Peer Support Service
- This service is available at all the Spinal Injuries Centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. SIA has teams of spinal cord injured Peer Support Officers and volunteers working within each Centre to provide friendly support and information on living with spinal cord injury, and to promote the SIA and its work.
- Peer Link Scheme
- Many people find speaking to someone with personal experience of spinal cord injury invaluable. The Peer Link Scheme aims to put SCI people in telephone contact with those who are happy to share the knowledge or experience they have personally gained through living with a spinal cord injury. Using our database of registered Scheme members, our Advice Line staff can put you in touch with other SCI people who have been through similar experiences and who are most suited to help with your particular enquiry.
Alongside this, our expanding team of Peer Link Workers based within the Spinal Cord Injury Centres are there to assist those about to be discharged by offering one-to-one support to ensure that the transition from hospital to home is as smooth as possible. Regular telephone and email contact is maintained in the weeks following discharge to offer help with any initial concerns, with contact being reduced as and when the newly discharged person feels confident enough to go it alone.
- Health Information
- Due to the specialist nature of spinal cord injury, queries on health matters form a large part of our requests for information. We have a Health Information Officer to help answer these enquiries and give information on living a healthy life with spinal cord injury.
- Ageing Well
- Growing older is never easy, and for spinal cord injured people there are specific issues related to their impairment that can make the ageing process that little bit more difficult. SIA has an Ageing Well project to address these issues, promoting well-being and encouraging a lively and positive outlook irrespective of age and disability.
- Workwise
- Our employment project, Workwise, supports spinal cord injured people wishing to return to, or retrain for, work following injury or take up volunteering. Through our Employment Adviser, and our Mentoring Scheme, we can offer support, information and advice to open up the world of work, training and volunteering.
- SIA Website
- Our website is a hugely popular community site containing many ‘pages’ and useful links on spinal cord injury. Chatroom sessions are held twice-weekly, and the interactive Message Board ensures a lively exchange of news and views. You can also email your query to our Advice Line , browse our shop and join or renew your subscription to SIA online.
- Publications
- A wide range of publications and videos are available, as is our bi-monthly magazine FORWARD. Details can be found on our publications page or by visiting our online shop. Why not get a taster of what SIA’s all about by signing up for our free online bulletin, ‘e-clips’
- Legal Help
- For those seeking assistance with a Personal Injury Claim, our Directory of Personal Injury Solicitors will help put you in contact with a specialist solicitor in your area. All the legal firms contained in this Directory have passed our criteria to assess their experience and expertise. This publication is free of charge and is updated annually.
- SIA Financial Services
- SIA Financial Services (SIAFS) is a new benefit for SIA members providing access to specialist independent financial advice from AWD Chase de Vere.
It's important to obtain independent and expert advice to help review your existing financial situation and secure your future. For more information about SIAFS visit
www.siafs.com or call 0844 800 9562
- Campaigning for Change
- The Public Affairs team has been established to champion the views and concerns of the spinal cord injured community. It responds to Government consultations and initiates political campaigns to address issues affecting SCI people and in many cases the wider disabled community. SIA actively participates in many pan-disability campaigns. The work of the team is divided into two specific areas; the first is to remove the social and environmental barriers that prevent spinal cord injured people from participating fully in society. The second area is focused on spinal cord injury specific issues relating to the treatment and support given by the Spinal Cord Injuries Centres.
- Membership
- Membership of SIA is open to all. Details of subscription rates are given in the membership section of the website. For newly spinal cord injured people, the first year’s membership is free on completion of a
Direct Debit mandate. Membership is free to SCI people under the age of 17.