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News date: 8 July 2011
Luton charity Headway which works with the victims of acquired brain injury is to host a major conference for doctors and other professionals.
Headway Luton is part of the national Headway charity, which supports victims of acquired brain injury.
Acquired brain injury occurs as a result of accidents, violence, aneurysms and other medical conditions. Each year 1.4 million people attend A&E departments following a brain injury and as many as 75% of minor brain injuries go either unreported or undiagnosed.
Yet those injuries often lead to loss of some senses and also character changes. Often, the victim goes into a downward spiral which can lead to marriage break-up and unemployment.
The aim of the Headway conference is to raise awareness among doctors, social workers and others of acquired brain injury, its causes and consequences.
The conference will follow the pathway of the injured person from the moment of hospital discharge to community based care. It will also explore the latest advances in clinical research, advancements and achievements in the treatment of acquired brain injury.
The event’s significance will extend much wider than Luton. Baroness Susan Greenfield, Oxford Professor of Pharmacology, research scientist and well known speaker will head a list of experts who will address the conference.
‘It would be wrong to allow the everyday thoughts of doom and gloom surrounding public service cuts, as bad as they are, to obscure the fact that there are still exceptional services within our community providing quality support to those who need it,’ says Grahame Atkins, service director of Headway Luton.
‘This conference is not only a learning opportunity for professionals in the field, but also aims to showcase the quality and range of services available to people with an ABI.’
The conference is scheduled for the Auction House on Crescent Road, on 16 September and is sponsored by Pictons.
‘My colleagues and I who work with medical negligence and personal injury cases are long time admirers of the work which Headway Luton does,’ explains Emma Anthony, one of Pictons’ personal injury specialist lawyers.
‘We’re all extremely enthusiastic about the chance of supporting them in making this problem more widely recognized and understood.’
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