When I last blogged, our Manchester head injury team were about to host an event for a number of case managers which turned out to be an extremely lively debate enjoyed by all.

Brain injury case managers are often a key element of the support which we are able to arrange for those who have suffered a brain injury. Often, particularly for those who may not be pursuing a compensation claim, knowing how to find and where to turn for information and support can very difficult for those who have suffered a brain injury. Individuals and families easily find themselves immersed in a world that perhaps they do not understand or recognise after brain injury.

With that thought in mind, I wanted to mention the national brain injury charity, Headway whose regional branches provide such support and for further details you might want to take a look at their website.  My fellow team members at Irwin Mitchell help to support our local Manchester group and I am delighted to say that I am helping with the launch of Headway Liverpool which should hopefully take off  by end of this year.  A number of the regional Headway groups can provide information, advice and support and a number also have day centres providing a meeting place for social events and an opportunity to talk to other people who have been affected by a brain injury.

Next week sees Headway, the UK brain injury support charity, launch their Action for Brain Injury Week, which this year focuses upon the information given out by hospitals to patients seen in casualty but discharged with a suspected "minor" head injury.

I'm sure that up and down the country, thousands of patients are seen in busy A+E units every week, are given the right advice and recover without complications after treatment. It's worth remembering that in many units hard working staff do the best they can with the resources that they have, and not every complication can be foreseen.

But the beauty and simplicity of Headway's campaign is the simple ask: just use Headway's well presented and carefully researched advice sheet on minor head injury, and give these out to patients before they exit the door. This will put an end to the inconsistent and frankly sometimes inadequate fact sheets used in some hospitals, and at the same time lets people know about the existence and work of Headway. What's wrong with that?

Let's just hope someone is listening!

Hello. I am part of the team in working with our head injury solicitors in Manchester and I am employed as a Client Liaison Manager. My background is medical and I am responsible for representing our clients who have sustained a brain injury, helping them to get access to rehabilitation whilst supporting their families.
 
It’s a pretty familiar scenario in cartoons and sitcoms that a person gets struck on the head, sees stars’ loses their memory and behaves oddly. Then, by chance, another bang on the head instantly restores the person that was injured.
 
In reality, brain injuries take many different forms. Some occur naturally and are difficult to predict or avoid. Haemorrhages, tumours and viral infections can affect us at any age, often without obvious cause. An acquired brain injury (ABI) is not present at birth and the most common type is the result of damage externally, such as a sharp blow to the head.  The chance of sustaining a traumatic brain injury is a lot higher than people think.

People always ask “what happens” when there is a sharp blow to the head because they presume that the skull protects the brain from damage. The skull is amazingly robust but like any other hollow shell it can be smashed and damaged. Even when the skull remains intact, the damage to the brain can be devastating. Our brains have the texture of blancmange and the inside of the skull is soft and rigid. Sudden deceleration such as a hard blow to the head or the head hitting a windscreen at anything over 20mph brings the brain into violent contact with the skull and some parts of it get bruised and torn.
 
A & E departments deal with visible and life threatening injuries and often the “invisible” damage to the brain is given less priority. In the hours and days after a brain injury, bruising leads to swelling and as the brain presses against the skull, blood flow becomes impaired as arteries become damaged. The treatment received during the early hours, days and weeks have a critical impact on the potential for recovery. The long term effects depend on the size and severity of the damage, but given the crucial function of each separate part of the brain, a wide range of impairments or disability may follow.
 
The moral of my story is to look after your brain and please do not take it for granted! It is the most important bit of you so don’t take risks. Wear a safety helmet if doing something hazardous such as cycling, mountaineering or pot holing and always wear a seat belt in a car, even as a passenger. Bones can be mended, flesh can be stitched back together but brains are a lot trickier to fix so please don’t take chances.
 
Irwin Mitchell support’s Headway’s campaign to provide good quality printed information leaflets to A & E departments. Sometimes, little information about what to look out for post injury is given out in A & E following injury to the head so I am personally thrilled that this information will be available to both the injured person and their families as part of my role remit includes educating the client and their families about brain injury. The role of a Client Liaison Manager is extremely rewarding and I look forward to telling you more about it in my next blog.