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Fragmented to Coordinated: Building a National Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury report launched by APPG
The final report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Spinal Cord Injury ‘Fragmented to Coordinated: Building a National Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury’ has today been launched in Westminster.
This report marks the culmination of the APPG Inquiry over the Summer, which brought together voices from across the SCI community, NHS England, and beyond. It is the only comprehensive report on spinal cord injury to be published directly by Parliamentarians, bringing together every aspect of life after injury, from acute care and rehabilitation to community support, workforce, data, and research. We hope it will serve as a turning point and perhaps a prelude to a more coordinated, equitable, and compassionate system of care for everyone affected by spinal cord injury.
The report calls for a National Spinal Cord Injury Strategy or framework, to replace the current fragmented approach with coordinated, person-centred care. It sets out practical recommendations across rehabilitation, workforce, community care, data, and research, all with one goal: ensuring that everyone with a spinal cord injury, wherever they live, can access the same high standards of care and support.
Forward: written by Andy McDonald MP, Chair (All-Party Parliamentary Group on Spinal Cord Injury)
The UK has a proud legacy in spinal cord injury care, pioneered by Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann, whose visionary work at Stoke Mandeville laid the foundations for modern SCI rehabilitation. What began as a radical transformation in the treatment of war veterans became a model for holistic, person-centred care around the world. It is with that spirit that we now revisit our national commitment to people with spinal cord injury.
As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Spinal Cord Injury, I have had the privilege of hearing directly from experts, patients, clinicians, and charities who live and work with the consequences of spinal cord injury every day.
This inquiry was launched with one simple but urgent aim: to understand why the UK must adopt a National Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury, and to develop clear, achievable recommendations to make that strategy a reality. Despite significant advances in acute trauma care, what follows spinal cord injury is too often a postcode lottery, marked by delayed admissions, fragmented discharge planning, inadequate housing, and a troubling absence of community-based care.Throughout this process, we have been struck by the resilience of those living with SCI, and equally, by the avoidable failures they face. A national strategy is no longer optional; it is essential. This report is not an endpoint, but a starting point. It is a call to action for government, health and care systems, and wider society to ensure that no one with a spinal cord injury falls through the cracks.
We are grateful to everyone who contributed their time, evidence, and lived experience to this inquiry. Your voices will shape what comes next.
Identified priorities
Photos from the inquiry
Photos from launch event
More information
ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP on SPINAL CORD INJURY
We work with a cross-party group of parliamentarians who are committed to tackling issues that affect people with spinal cord injuries. The group is made up of MPs and peers from all parties who help to make sure spinal cord issues are high on the government’s agenda.
Our goal is to improve care, support, and rehabilitation for people living with SCI. Spinal cord injuries are life-changing, affecting individuals, their families, carers, and communities. We are a coalition of spinal cord injury (SCI) charities and partner organisations and we are working with the NHS, government bodies, and the healthcare community to make sure the strategy prioritises:
