Acquired Brain Injury

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd July 2019 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) for having set the scene so well, and for the hard work that he does in the health sector. I have said before in this Chamber that this issue is very close to my heart, as my brother Keith had a severe motorbike accident some 16 years ago, which almost took his life and which irrevocably changed it. We were told that he would be almost like a vegetable, and although he certainly is not the same, he has a degree of independence fostered by four daily carers’ calls; my wife and sons visiting my house at the end of the lane, where he lives, daily; my 87-year-old—soon to be 88-year-old—mother taking care of him; and the local members of my Orange lodge and church groups being incredibly good to him. It is truly a collective response.

The fact is that without any of those elements of support, Keith would almost certainly be in a care home somewhere, watching TV or just looking out of a window. We are blessed to be in a community that takes care of its own, but there are so many people without that care and support who have no alternative to being in a residential facility, with no independence or semblance of who they once were. That is incredibly sad, but it does not have to be that way. I put on record my thanks to all those involved in Keith’s care from the time he had the accident, from the surgeons to the nurses and all those who helped, and for all the prayers that were made for him.

Some 350,000 people are admitted to hospital in the UK every year with ABI-related diagnoses as a result of trauma, stroke, tumour, infection, illness, carbon monoxide exposure, or hypoxia. That means that every 90 seconds, somebody with an acquired brain injury is admitted to hospital. In Northern Ireland, some of the stats are quite worrying as well: in 2014-15, there were 11,287 ABI-related hospital admissions, including 5,304 from a head injury and 4,109 from a stroke. In 2015-16, there were 11,121 admissions, 4,916 from a head injury and 4,256 from a stroke. In 2016-17, there were 10,762 admissions, 4,742 from a head injury and 4,269 from a stroke. The figures have fallen slightly, but the numbers are consistent.

We also have carbon monoxide poisonings across the UK. In England and Wales, there are about 30 deaths and 200 hospital admissions each year, as well as 4,000 visits to A&E, costing the taxpayer some £178 million per year—I know that the cost of lives to families is greater, and we should be aware of that. I support the aims of the all-party parliamentary carbon monoxide group, which has recommended that

“the Government introduce preventative measures including mandating CO alarms in all tenures, providing CO monitors in first-time pregnancies, and tackling sub-standard housing that increases the risk of CO exposure.”

Although I know that area is not directly the Minister’s responsibility, I ask her what has been done in relation to it. The APPCOG also recommends that

“Public Health England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office do more to raise public awareness of CO in order to encourage risk-lowering behaviours at home and abroad.”

It is my belief that we could do more to prevent carbon monoxide poisonings, and those recommendations could positively affect the figures in future.

It is daunting to see someone who one minute is in their prime, and the next is completely changed. I know, because I have seen that; I have lived through it and felt it in a big way. Many people do not see a light at the end of the tunnel, so there is a need for support and respite. Many more loved ones might be able to stay with their family, rather than having to go into full-time care. There must be access to timely, specialist rehabilitation and support services, and an end to the lengthy waiting list for social service assessments for public support.

Finally, I will make a request about the benefits system. We have had to fight for everything for Keith from the very beginning. We were his court appointees; we looked after his financial affairs and everything for him, yet the benefit system does not seem to understand that. We could have had a wee bit more help with that as well, so I put that down not just for us, but for other family members.

I finish with this: as with all things, funding is key. We must rethink this strategy, and realise that it is more cost-effective in the long term to allow people to remain at home with support. More importantly, that means a better quality of life for those people, which has to be a material consideration in any Government decision.