Living well with a spinal injury, for all of life

At Prestige Nursing & Care, we believe people living with a spinal injury should be able to live fulfilled and comfortable lives with the right support in place, tailored to their individual needs.

As an established provider, we have supported individuals who require spinal injury aftercare to have an improved quality of life in their own homes and communities for over 75 years. We are trusted by families up and down the country to provide care for all of life, evolving the level and type of care we provide to meet changing needs.

YOUR HOME IS BEST FOR SPINAL INJURY CARE

We know through our experience of supporting thousands of people and their families that, when faced with the prospect of needing long-term care, most people would prefer to stay in the safety, comfort and familiarity of home.

Remaining at home with spinal injury care means that you can continue to live life your way whilst benefiting from one-to-one care provided by a competent and compassionate carer. They will focus on providing care and support that enriches how you live so that you can have an improved quality of life with enhanced well-being.

Care at home enables you to retain as much independence as possible and live your life with choice. Our carers will support you to achieve therapeutic milestones and, for children and young adults, educational achievements and developmental milestones.

WHAT IS A SPINAL INJURY?

The spinal cord is an extension of the brain. It is made up of a thick bundle of nerves that carry messages from our brain to the rest of our body. When the spinal cord is damaged, it impacts communication between the brain and the rest of our body. This affects vital functions including paralysis, which is a loss of movement and sensation.

Paraplegia refers to paralysis that occurs in the lower half of the body and involves paralysis of both legs. Quadriplegia, sometimes called tetraplegia, is paralysis of both legs and both arms.

Paralysis due to a spinal cord injury may be total or partial, depending on the severity of damage to the spinal cord. In addition to paralysis of the arms/or legs, the affected person may also have challenges such as:

  • Incontinence: bladder and/or bowel
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Difficulty with breathing
  • Difficulty sitting upright depending on the level of the damage

Inactivity due to paraplegia and quadriplegia can increase the risk of additional problems arising, such as:

  • Bed sores
  • Spastic limbs
  • Pneumonia
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Weakened bones
  • Chronic pain

People with paraplegia and quadriplegia may also become depressed due to social isolation, lack of emotional support and increasing levels of dependence on others.

Recovery and rehabilitation from spinal cord injury usually take place in the acute care hospital setting and may involve surgery, medications, intensive physical therapy and counselling. During this time, patients are fitted for mobility aids, including wheelchairs. For most people, recovery, which may be full or partial, takes place during the first year.

A person with a spinal injury will require a highly personalised plan of spinal injury care from a specialist care provider once they are discharged from hospital. This is so they can continue rehabilitation at home and work towards establishing as much independence as possible. Many people who suffer a spinal cord injury can have a fulfilled life with the right support in place, including returning to jobs, starting new hobbies and becoming parents.

WHAT IS SPINAL INJURY CARE AT HOME?

At Prestige Nursing & Care, we provide a spinal injury care and support package that enables you to live an enriched and fulfilled life in the safety and comfort of your own home.

No matter what your age, the spinal injury care and support we provide will be guided by you and tailored to your needs. This gives you choice over how you live your life and the support you want. Our focus is for you to enjoy life and our carers will support you with a care plan that means you can enjoy activities and as much socialisation as you wish. They will actively encourage you to learn new skills and engage in new hobbies to make life stimulating and meaningful.

We work collaboratively with our clients and their families to develop a thorough care and support plan that accurately reflects a person’s holistic needs. We also adopt a partnership approach to working with local authority partners, NHS services, multidisciplinary teams, therapists and other community bodies involved in a person’s care. This means we are well-equipped to respond efficiently to changing needs and strengthen care provision when required.

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NURSE-LED CARE FOR A SPINAL INJURY

Our carers are highly trained by an expert registered nurse to provide the clinical interventions required by those living with a spinal injury, including:

  • Assisted mobility
  • Bowel and bladder management including stoma, catheter and urostomy care
  • Medication administration and complex medication management
  • Home ventilation and respiratory support
  • Pain management caused by a spinal injury
  • Continence care
  • Gastrostomy and nasogastric feeding

Carers will also be trained to use any equipment you need to increase your quality of life, including supporting you to use mobility aides such as manual and power-assisted wheelchairs.

We know that those who need spinal injury aftercare may experience low self-esteem and many live with depression associated with their injury. Our carers are not only able to meet your spinal injury care needs but can support your emotional and psychological needs, too. They are always proactive in building well-being and positive mood through gentle encouragement and sensitive support.

COMPETENT AND COMPASSIONATE SPINAL INJURY CARERS

When you choose Prestige Nursing & Care, you can be reassured that the carer who cares for you or your loved one is experienced and expertly trained to provide the support you need to the high standards you should expect.

If you are receiving complex care at home, your care team will have at least six months of experience before they can care for you. In addition to completing our induction training programme, which goes above mandatory requirements, they are trained by our registered nurses, clinical experts and other healthcare professionals. This hands-on nurse training means they can competently undertake a range of clinical interventions.

We adopt a bespoke approach to training that ensures our carers have the knowledge, skills and aptitude to deliver high-quality complex care that meets the very specific needs of our clients. Through our unrivalled supervision and clinical oversight, carers can adapt their approach and evolve the care they provide to meet changing needs.

We are very proud of our carers – each and every one of them is dedicated to providing compassionate, sensitive and dignified complex care at home. This allows our clients to live a fulfilled and meaningful life, with independence and choice, for all of life.

CLINICAL EXCELLENCE AT PRESTIGE NURSING & CARE

Clinical excellence is at the heart of our culture and approach to service delivery at Prestige Nursing & Care. Our nurse-led home care service is monitored and supported by our experienced regional nursing teams.

Our team of qualified regional nurses is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Each holds a registered nursing qualification in at least one nursing specialism, including general adult nursing, learning and disability nursing, mental health nursing and children’s nursing. They enable the planning and delivery of safe and effective complex care to our clients.

Our nurses work in partnership with our Care Coordinators, carers, clients and families to identify specific care needs and plan the most appropriate care provision. All whilst ensuring our carers have the skills they need to deliver high standards of nurse-led care. They also provide families with ongoing advice and continual support to ensure they feel reassured about the service we provide.

Case Study_Robert

Robert

HELPING ROBERT’S SPINAL INURY REHABILITATION AT HOME

Robert sadly suffered a spinal cord injury having fallen down a…

WHAT DOES OUR HOME CARE SERVICE INCLUDE FOR THOSE LIVING WITH SPINAL INJURY?

THE TYPE OF SPINAL INJURY CARE WE PROVIDE

Our trusted and established care at home service can be provided in the following ways for someone living with a spinal injury:

HOURLY CARE
Hourly care / visiting care

Hourly care or visiting care is for those who need extra support with the tasks of daily living or clinical care at certain times during the day. Care at home can be provided from a 60-minute visit per day to as many hours/visits throughout the day as you require. One day a week or several days, depending on your care and support needs.

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Respite care

Respite care is a short-term arrangement after hospital discharge to rehabilitate or when a family carer needs a break from their caring role. It is also an ideal service for families who wish to assess whether care at home is the right care choice for them.

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24-Hour care

24-hour care is for people with substantial care needs who need round-the-clock support to live well at home. A team of dedicated carers will take turns being with you throughout the day and night, so you’re never left without the support you need.

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Why choose prestige nursing & care?

See for yourself why our clients choose Prestige Nursing & Care to provide the spinal injury care they need:

A FULLY MANAGED SERVICE

Prestige Nursing & Care is not an agency. Unlike a home care agency, we provide a fully managed and regulated care at home service. This means our clients, their families and our professional partners can be reassured that the care and support we provide those living with a spinal injury is of the very highest quality. Families can focus on spending quality time together rather than managing the care arrangement.

CQC REGULATED CARE

Our service is inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England and the Scottish Care Inspectorate (SCI) in Scotland. We are proud that 96% of our inspected services have been rated as providing a ‘Good’ service, with 4% rated ‘Outstanding’ in England.

Our accredited service for complex care, which meets local and national quality standards and ensures a consistent approach to the care we provide, provides peace of mind and reassurance that our service is of the highest quality.

RIGOROUS RECRUITMENT & TRAINING PROCESS

Our commitment to excellence starts with our care team. Our rigorous recruitment process ensures only the most qualified and dedicated individuals join our team. Our carers undergo comprehensive training to ensure they possess the skills, knowledge, and compassion required to provide exceptional care. All of our carers have at least six months of care or health sector experience before being placed with a client or community partner.

COMPLEX & SPECIALIST CARE

Our service is nurse-led and our carers are expertly trained to provide care for complex, terminal and other medical conditions. They are supported by a registered home nurse who provides unrivalled monitoring and supervision of our clinical care. With this leadership and oversight, carers can perform many delegated healthcare tasks and interventions at home.

CARE MANAGEMENT LOCAL TO YOU

Our responsive and reliable local nurse-led service allows us to put a care pathway and plan in place quickly and, in many cases, within 24 hours. We work in partnership with healthcare professionals, Case Managers, families and personal injury lawyers to ensure we have an in-depth understanding of a client’s needs. Our local registered nurse will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your needs at home or in any specialist care setting, enabling a plan of care and support to be developed that meets all your needs.

Our approach to care planning, whether it is for an hourly, respite or live-in care service, ensures we capture all your preferences and wishes so you can live a contented life in the comfort of your own home. We take time to find the nursing carer that would best meet your nursing needs, making sure they are closely aligned with how you wish to live your life.

Once care is in place, our local teams made up of care and clinical experts, provide you, your family and our carer with an abundance of ongoing support. This gives you reassurance that you or your loved one is receiving the very best complex care at home.

COST OF SPINAL INJURY CARE

The cost of spinal injury care depends on the level of care and support you require. If you are receiving our hourly spinal injury care, the overall cost will be determined by the number of visits and frequency of visits to you at home. Our experts will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your needs at your home or in hospital if you are awaiting discharge, to truly understand what you need and how much spinal injury care at home will cost.

We know that our cost of spinal injury care is very competitive when compared with other home care providers.  It is worth noting that when comparing the cost of home care with a care package in a care home, that the fee you pay for home care is actually for the care and support you receive.  In a care home your weekly fee mainly covers your accommodation, food and social activities with the care package being only a small part of what you pay.

You may be entitled to either healthcare funding, social care funding or Government funding to contribute to the cost of spinal injury home care.  If you are faced with having to finance your own home care (known as self-funding care), there are initiatives available to you, including care fees annuities or equity release schemes that could provide the funds you need for your care and support.

Find out why our clients choose Prestige Nursing & Care for a high quality, responsive home care service.

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RESPONSIVE LOCAL TEAMS WITH NATIONWIDE COVERAGE

We provide care and support to those needing spinal injury care in over 30 locations in the heart of communities across England and Scotland. The fully managed service we provide is highly responsive and our experts local to you can put care packages in place quickly many times within 24 hours.

Working in collaboration with local healthcare professionals, multidisciplinary teams, therapeutic care providers and other community support services, we can provide holistic care that ensures our clients get the best out of life, for all of life.

Find a care service near you

Find out why our clients choose Prestige Nursing & Care for a high quality, responsive home care service.

Complex Care FAQS

USEFUL RESOURCES

There are several organisations and charities in the UK that support those who are living with spinal injury, including the Spinal Injuries Association, Aspire and Back Up Trust.

We are here to take your call and will provide impartial support and guidance – contact our friendly care experts today to discuss your spinal injury care and support needs.


0808 239 1525

“We cannot recommend Prestige Nursing & Care enough. We never thought that anybody would be good enough to help with the care of our disabled son. How wrong we were! We have had the same carer with us for three years now. Every member of the team is caring, professional and always goes that extra mile. We would highly recommend Prestige Nursing & Care.”

Michaela – Client’s Mother