Prevention before Cure
The MASCIP decision to introduce accident and injury prevention as a theme within our website was prompted at a MASCIP conference by a member of the Spinal Injuries Association who read out the poem 'A Fence or an Ambulance' to illustrate his belief that health professionals should consider the advantages of getting involved in injury prevention rather than continually emphasisng the resource limitations of the NHS in treating survivors with increasingly complex injuries (i.e. the professional focus at this conference was how much the NHS investment in paramedic/rescue training and advanced life support meant that individuals who would previously have died at scene or shortly after admission to A&E were now surviving to return to the community with complex care packages such as long-term ventilation (such as Christopher Reeve for example).
In accordance with the national strategic consensus MASCIP acknowledge 3 levels of health promotion with the potential to reduce the incidence or impact of SCI:
- Prevent the accident (we have to live with risk every day but how we choose to live our lives can increase, control or reduce those risks significantly)
- Accepting that all accidents cannot be prevented - reducing the potential for injury through the promotion of both passive and active safety systems.
- In the event of traumatic injury promoting appropriate casualty/first-aider/paramedic/rescuer behaviour at scene of accident which intends to reduce the potential for secondary injury or avoidable post injury complications.
Useful Links for SCI Prevention or Reduction Information: