John Hayes: The case for a national right to rehab

Each year, 335,000 people are admitted to hospital with an acquired brain injury – that is nearly 1,000 every single day. Yet what causes so much harm and brings so many heartaches remains widely misunderstood. 

As the leading cause of death and disability among people under-40 in the UK, acquired brain injury (ABI) has long warranted the full attention of policymakers across all areas of government. For while the Department of Health plays a central role in dealing with the traumatic effects of brain injury, the scale and complexity of its consequent impact require coordinated action from multiple sources.  

A head injury itself is just the beginning for survivors. The real challenge unfolds in the days, months, and years that follow, as individuals and their families struggle to navigate, with minimal support, a fragmented and underfunded system of rehabilitation. 

With an estimated 1.3 million living with the long-term effects of ABI the toll – both economic and human – is staggering. According to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Acquired Brain Injury’s latest report, the cost to the UK economy is at least £43 billion annually. The purely fiscal ramifications only scratch the surface of the whole cost. The true loss is measured in lives disrupted; parents seeing their child’s personality alter overnight; carers stretched to their limits with no respite; individuals dismissed because their symptoms are “mild” and therefore unworthy of assistance. When less obvious, but just as devastating effects are included, the total cost soars to an estimated £91.5 billion. 

Behind the dryness of statistics lies a real life. Take the story of Annie Ricketts, once a successful businesswoman, who, after being failed by the health and social care system, was helpless, homeless and living in her car. Staggeringly, the vital research of Dr Alyson Norman, who lost her brother to suicide after a lifetime of untreated brain injuries sustained in childhood, found that one-third of serious case reviews in social services involve someone with a brain injury. 

None of the failures are inevitable. The APPG for Acquired Brain Injury, which I am proud to Chair, knows what should to be done. The Ministry of Defence already guarantees the Right to Rehabilitation for injured military personnel. The results are clear, shorter recovery times, better outcomes, and restored lives. The same approach is being piloted at the National Centre for Rehabilitation (NRC), where every £43,000 invested in rehab yield savings of up to £680,000 – a remarkable 16:1 return on investment make it one of the most cost-effective uses of public funds. 

Now is the time to extend this entitlement beyond a few to the many who would benefit. We must establish a national neurorehabilitation framework which guarantees that access to specialist care is not a lottery, but a certain path to recovery. We should embrace a national policy that supports and funds the immediate and long-term rehabilitation of those living with acquired or traumatic brain injuries. 

In doing so, money would be saved and futures saved too. High-quality rehabilitation reduces the risk of homelessness, addiction, and the drift into lawlessness. It allows people to return to work, contribute to the economy, and with personal esteem restored, rebuild their wellbeing and rejoin their communities with dignity and pride. 

Seven years ago, the APPG released Acquired Brain Injury and Neurorehabilitation: Time for Change, calling for timely and specialist intervention. Since, too little has changed. So now, with the publication of The Cost of Acquired Brain Injury to the UK Economy: Their Right to Rehab, we need the Government to act. The report’s recommendations deserve such prompt decisive action to dismantle the institutional barriers which obstruct coordinated care. 

I know this because more than 40 years ago, like so many other young people, I suffered a serious head injury. Having since achieved all I aimed to and more, it is my hope-filled belief that recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal, should not depend on luck, but be an entitlement – free and fair. It is my determination to turn that hope into a reality.