A Rehabilitation Roadmap 2023
March 16, 2023
The Principal Hotel, York
On 16 March 2023 we hosted our first annual claimant conference: A Rehabilitation Roadmap, at The Principal Hotel, York.
The conference, which was delivered to those who work with, or help those who have experienced catastrophic injury, personal injury, or clinical negligence, follows on in the footsteps of our highly successful Mental Capacity Act 2005 Conference.
The content from our esteemed speaker line-up covered the various stages of recovery, from NHS treatment and rehabilitation, to private inpatient rehabilitation, private case management and rehabilitation in the community. We also looked into the work of those acting as experts in litigation, aiming to provide better understanding of the litigation journey that claimants experience, and how their rehabilitation interacts with, and informs, the litigation process.
Event gallery
Save the date
Taking place on Thursday, 18 April 2024 at The Principal, York is our rehabilitation conference. This is a must-attend for professionals across treatment and recovery, working with or supporting those who have suffered serious and life-changing injuries. Please save the date in your diary [link].
Focusing on the rehabilitation journey, the conference will follow the story of a client as they navigate life post-injury. From accident reconstruction, acute treatment and recovery, through to settlement and financial advice.
Further information, including our line-up of speakers, will be released in due course. Find out more here.
Event feedback
"First conference I have been to where so many returned after lunch! One of the best conferences for content, l sustained interest and location. Thank you.”
“Thank you, it was a really friendly and welcoming space which made networking easy and do-able!”
“One of the few conferences I have attended where all the talks linked well together to create a smooth transition through the day. Everything was relevant but nothing repetitive.”
“Great networking opportunities - liked the layout of round tables rather than lecture theatre style. All speakers were very relevant to my current case management work in Yorkshire/North East area.”
“Lovely to be out and seeing like-minded colleagues. A really interesting day Thank you”
Conference agenda
08:30 - 09:30 Registration & Refreshments
09:30 - 09:45 Welcome address by Compère John McQuater, Director and Joint Head of Personal Injury, Switalskis Solicitors
09:45 - 10:35 Cross over between NHS/statutory and private services, and how to maximise and mix both - Cathy Johnson, Brain Injury Case Manager and Expert Rehab Without Walls
10:35 - 11:25 Painting the picture: Gathering and presenting meaningful evidence across a Multi-Disciplinary Team - Vicki Gilman, Managing Director, Social Return Case Management Ltd
11:25 - 11:40 Comfort break
11:40 – 12:30 Understanding the lives of patients in a minimally conscious state and considering a return to a home setting - Dr Ruth Kent, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Neurological Rehabilitation, Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and University of Leeds
12:30 – 13:00 Blind Bloke Racer - Nigel Limb
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:30 The role of interim payments during rehabilitation and how evidence from case managers and therapists can help - Will Waldron KC, Exchange Chambers
14:30 – 15:10 Supporting the family and vicarious trauma in family members, carers and other professionals - Dr David Todd, Registered Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist, Reconnect Psychology
15:10 – 15:35 Closing address
15:35 - 16:00 Networking
Speaker biographies
Dr Ruth Kent, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Neurological Rehabilitation at Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and University of Leeds
Dr Kent is a Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Rehabilitation Medicine, with a special interest in Neurological Rehabilitation, Academic Department of Musculoskeletal and Rehabilitation Medicine. She was the lead for Neuro Rehabilitation at Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and also provides clinical input into the Southwest Yorkshire Mental Health Trust through input into the Kendray Barnsley Rehabilitation Unit and works with the Learning Disability Psychiatry and Therapy Team.
Ruth Looks after patients across their clinical journey, both with acquired injuries and with longer term degenerative condition, including those with genetic and congenital conditions. She works in inpatient rehabilitation of head injuries and other acute neurological conditions and also stroke care and provides outpatient neurological rehabilitation care and symptom management.
She has an interest in medical ethics and has been on the local research ethics committee, advising the Trust and local PCTs on the aspects of safeguarding, ethics and service development.
Will Waldron, King’s Counsel, Exchange Chambers
Will handles catastrophic injury claims of complexity. He has particular expertise in brain, spine and amputee cases. With a comprehensive mastery of his practice areas, Will is calm and measured and considered extremely “client friendly”.
A nationally recognised speaker on all aspects of catastrophic injury claims and a regular contributor to legal journals, he is a Recorder of the Crown and County Courts and, until 2021, a Judge of the Mental Health Tribunal Restricted Panel.
Recent cases have involved recovery of the equivalent of £7.1 million (brain injury with severe physical disability) and £14 million (tetraplegia and brain injury).’
Dr David Todd, Registered Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist, Reconnect Psychology
Dr David Todd is a Clinical Neuropsychologist working with people after acquired brain injury, supporting rehabilitation in post-acute, community and residential settings.
He received his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Lancaster University in 2008, and has worked within the NHS and third sectors, before joining Reconnect Psychology in 2012.He has received a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology from Glasgow University.
Dave contributed a chapter on ‘Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) after Brain Injury’ (2020) and edited ‘Narrative approaches to brain injury’ published by Karnac Books in 2014. He teaches on the Doctorate programme in Clinical Psychology at Leeds University.
Cathy Johnson, Brain Injury Case Manager and Expert, Rehab Without Walls
Cathy qualified in social work in 1975 and worked with people with mental health problems and learning disabilities.
From 1984 she ran the Social Work Department in the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow, became Secretary of Headway (West of Scotland), and elected to the National Management Committee. Cathy helped found HITS ( Head Injuries Trust for Scotland), and managed social workers in the Scottish Epilepsy Association and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.In 1990 Cathy developed the ScotCare Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit in Lanarkshire. She became Unit Director of the Kemsley Unit at St Andrews Hospital, Northampton in 1992.In November 1995, Cathy set up Rehab Without Walls.
She is a founder member, fellow and former chair of the British Association of Brain Injury Case Managers(2007 – 2010)
Vicki Gilman, Managing Director, Social Return Case Management Ltd
Vicki qualified in 1988 as a physiotherapist. Her early career was shaped by working in a military hospital, which sparked a long-term interest in brain injury and clinical complexity, effective team working and creative approaches to rehabilitation. She set up 3 community rehabilitation teams in the NHS and independent sector and was an expert witness in catastrophic injury cases for over 20 years.
Vicki now leads Social Return Case Management where she seeks to recruit and develop outstanding people to build a collaborative team where 2-way knowledge sharing is firmly embedded with effective and meaningful services, a well-developed attention to detail and sustainability of outcomes for clients.
Nigel Lamb, Nigel suffered a major brain injury seven years ago, following a motorbike accident
After waking from a coma, Nigel was diagnosed with Bilateral Purtscher’s Retinopathy, as well as other lasting symptoms caused by his brain injuries. Despite his disabilities, Nigel undertakes various 2 and 4 wheel motor racing challenges.
In 2021, riding his Triumph Bonneville, he set the UK speed record for ‘Unassisted Partially Blind Rider’, from a standing start over a 1/8 th mile dragstrip. In 2022, he set another record for ‘Unassisted Partially Blind Rider’, from a standing start over a 1/8 the mile, this time on an electric bike.
