PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
SPINAL INJURIES ASSOCIATION (31 May 1998)

That this House welcomes the launch of the Spinal Injuries Awareness Week on 14th June by the Spinal Injuries Association; notes that rapid access to one of the United Kingdom's 11 spinal injury units for a person with suspected spinal cord injury can have a significant effect on their subsequent quality of life and level of rehabilitation; further notes that the long-term cost of care for a person with spinal cord injury can be reduced by early access to a spinal injury unit; further notes that there is no agreed national protocol for the treatment of spinal cord injury; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to prioritise spinal cord injury in its developments of national service frameworks and the National Institute of Clinical Excellence and to establish standards of care and access to specialist care from the perspective of the user, based on the Spinal Injuries Association's Spinal Injury Charter.

Sponsored by:
Dr Evan Harris (Liberal Democrat)