Re-accreditation achievement for National Spinal Injuries Centre (From Bucks Free Press)

Re-accreditation achievement for National Spinal Injuries Centre

10:25am Thursday 29th December 2011 in Health

The National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), part of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, has received a coveted international accreditation of excellence for its care of adults and children with spinal cord injury.

The centre, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury, has been awarded the highest level of CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accreditation for a further three year period. This achievement is an indication of the centre’s dedication and commitment to improving the quality of the lives of its patients. It is the only NHS spinal injuries centre in England and Wales to achieve accreditation and the young person’s unit, the only centre of its kind in Europe.

CARF is an internationally recognised independent body that evaluates standards in rehabilitation care around the world.

The CARF accolade follows rigorous evaluation by assessors who visited the centre looking at all aspects of the rehabilitation programme for patients staying in hospital and those attending appointments.

Claire Guy, rehabilitation programme lead, National Spinal Injuries Centre, said: “We are delighted with this re-accreditation which is a result of all the hard work and dedication of our staff at the NSIC. This award gives us a strong foundation to further develop our services and to ensure the NSIC continues to be at the forefront of spinal cord injury care.”

The CARF accreditation highlights that services, personnel, and documentation clearly indicate an established pattern of practice excellence. The NSIC was successfully accredited for the following programmes: • Inpatient rehabilitation programmes – hospital: spinal cord system of care (adults) • Inpatient rehabilitation programmes – hospital: spinal cord system of care (paediatric specialty programme) • Interdisciplinary outpatient medical rehabilitation programmes: spinal cord system of care (adults) • Interdisciplinary outpatient medical rehabilitation programmes: spinal cord system of care (paediatric specialty programme).

The NSIC offers inpatient and outpatient care to adults and children with spinal cord injuries, many arriving following a traumatic event like a car accident. The centre treats patients from across England, as well as abroad, undergoing intensive rehabilitation to help rebuild their lives.

The rehabilitation programme focuses on patient centred care to help patients return to the best quality of life following transition into the community. Each rehabilitation package is tailor-made, with goals influenced by what each patient says is important to them.

Based on information supplied by Richard Burton.