Spinal cord injury: the mental health gap

An article published today in the Guardian highlights the need for joined up healthcare for all disabled people. In this insightful article, Ruth Hunt looks at the rarely spoken about mental and physical health issues experienced by disabled people with the emphasis on the experiences of SCI people.

SIA’s concern over the gap in ongoing NHS psychological support for people with SCI was one of the reasons for the development of our telephone counselling service.  As an expert voice and source of information and advice for people with SCI, we were invited to comment on the peer and mental health support services we provide to tackle this issue.

“We see it as essential that everyone affected by spinal cord injuries has access to lifelong, expert counselling support when required, and it’s very concerning that wider NHS mental health services in general are under such pressure at the moment,” says a SIA spokeswoman. She says it is also committed to raising awareness of these issues at the highest levels of government and NHS England to secure the long-term investment in ongoing psychological services that is so desperately needed.”

If you have experience of the gaps in mental health service provision from the NHS, or wish to share your views or endorse the article in The Guardian, please contact SIA’s Campaigns Team on [email protected]

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