Spinal Injury Association
Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) is the expert, guiding voice for life after spinal cord injury. For 50 years, SIA has supported people affected by life-changing spinal injuries, and their vision remains clear: a fulfilled life for everyone affected by spinal cord injury.
People with a spinal cord injury and their families too often face stretched or inappropriate health and support services when they need them, barriers to accessing carers, transport, livelihoods, or housing and a lack of public awareness on their life-long condition. SIA is here to help and are working towards their Strategy 2030.
How SIA help
To achieve their vision and purpose, SIA have three overarching goals:
- A health and care system that works for people with spinal cord injury
- To double the number of members accessing their network of services
- A UK government and public championing the cause
And in pursuit of those goals, they have four approaches:
- Provide critical health and care support for all people with spinal cord injury, offering support and guidance through a specialist frontline team to meet urgent and chronic physical and mental health challenges and providing advocacy and representation for members who are refused or given inappropriate support
- Coordinate a network of support services nationwide, encompassing a national network of partners to support the diverse needs of their members and develop 50 local community groups across all ten regional hubs
- Build vital specialist expertise across the health and care sector, providing specialist training to healthcare professionals and educating people with spinal cord injury and their families to manage their condition and advocate for appropriate treatments. Additionally, research and development for appropriate support, rehabilitation, treatment & prevention and influencing improved policy and practice across specialist services and general health and social care settings.
- Campaign for change; from leading national campaigns to contest the biggest barriers faced by members, to facilitating local, member-led campaigns within communities and public engagement to encourage the UK public to take up the cause.
SIA provides a whole range of support and advice services and in 2022/23 received more than 1,400 calls to their support line, delivered training and education to almost 750 healthcare professionals through the Frank Williams Academy and supported nearly 100 people living with a spinal cord injury with specialist counselling.
All of this whilst tirelessly campaigning on issues that matter most to people with spinal cord injury and growing their network of support through partnership with specialist organisations.
SIA and CL Medilaw working together
In April 2023 we joined SIA’s network of support, taking up a Business Membership and appearing in their Network Directory.
Our specialised team of serious injury lawyers ensure our clients can receive maximum compensation following their accident, reducing financial burden whilst at the same time putting them in contact with charities, such as SIA, to signpost them to services and to help them access rehabilitation at the earliest opportunity.
This year we will be taking part in fundraising events in support of SIA to help them celebrate this important 50th year, looking back and honouring the years since the charity was founded by the late Baroness Masham of Ilton in 1974.
