In 1985 we started the UK's first paediatric brain injury rehabilitation service and today, we now run the county’s largest service of its kind from our national specialist centre in Tadworth, Surrey.
As one of the only services which can provide the most complex rehabilitation to children and young people with acquired brain injury outside of a hospital setting, our work sees us support children from right across the UK.
Our flexible services reflect the range of abilities and needs of children with brain injuries; from those who are minimally conscious to those who appear to have made a full physical recovery but are left with 'hidden' problems with their cognition, memory, communication and behaviour.
Our services aim to:
- maximise each child's potential
- restore lost skills where possible, develop alternative skills and provide compensatory aids as needed
- facilitate new learning beyond the end of the child's natural recovery period
- develop an understanding of the child's needs
- ensure the child's home environment is modified for the way they will function after their brain injury
- prevent secondary problems such as joint contractures developing.
The rehabilitation team also works with the child and their family to help them come to terms with the new needs of their child.
Funding and referrals
Our rehabilitation service is funded in a number of ways. As the UK’s only dedicated neurorehabilitation provider with a National Specialised Commissioning Contract to deliver brain injury rehabilitation in conjunction with NHS England, funding flows automatically for children and young people who meet certain criteria (subject to assessment and placement availability). In addition, we also work with integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities across the UK to secure funding for placements. Private placements are available, typically funded by insurance companies, case management organisations, embassies representing a child, or by families themselves. As a charity, we need to raise £7m each year to help support children and their families, and heavily rely upon the generous donations of our supporters in doing so.
If you’re a healthcare professional working with a child or young person with acquired brain injury, you can download our specialist services brochure to find out more about how our services may be able to support them.
