SNN March 2016

CON
BEN’S BLURB
WELCOME TO 2016! WE ARE WELL AND TRULY INTO THE NEW YEAR AND I AM ALWAYS AMAZED AT
JUST HOW FAST THE YEAR FLIES BY. THIS ONE IS SHAPING UP TO GO JUST AS FAST, AND I AM LOOKING
FORWARD TO ANOTHER OUTSTANDING YEAR WHERE THE TRUST CONTINUES TO DELIVER OUR
WONDERFUL SERVICES AND TO GROW OUR CAPABILITY. IT IS GOING TO BE A BRILLIANT YEAR!
After a great 2015, during
which the Trust consolidated,
we are excited to have a
brand-spanking-new website
after a long time in the making.
Sometimes in the not-forprofit
sector, what seems like
a simple project can turn into
a time-consuming brute-of-a-thing, which takes a lot
longer to get across the line than initially thought. Our
new website was no different. It is also something
we are immensely proud of, so special thanks goes to
our General Manager, Hans Wouters, and Bernadette
Cassidy, our Library and Design Services Manager,
who pulled much of it together. We worked on it in
conjunction with Gary Lee of Digital Operative, who
‘gets’ what we do and is just as passionate about the NZ
Spinal Trust as we are. So please visit www.nzspinaltrust.
org.nz and see for yourself just how outstanding the site
is.
I also want to acknowledge our departing Spinal
Network News Editor, Johnny Bourke, who took on
the position in 2014. It was the first time we’d had a
dedicated editor and he took the magazine to new
heights. Johnny has departed to pursue his research
career with our sister organisation, The Burwood
Academy of Independent Living, better known as BAIL,
where lived-research around spinal and brain injury is
converted to results and better rehabilitation outcomes
for you, our members and client base. Johnny’s last
edition was the December 2015 issue, and we now
welcome Peter Thornton, who joins us with a mountain
of experience in journalism. We are excited to have
Peter on board and look forward to the Spinal Network
News evolving further. As always, we embrace your
feedback and suggestions so please don’t hesitate to
contact us – we welcome it.
One exciting piece of work that I have been involved
with for a while now is the Spinal Cord Impairment
Action Plan 2014-17. This is available to view as a
download from our new website if you look under
“Resources”, then “ACC and Non-ACC”. This plan is
supported by ACC and the Ministry of Health, with the
process taking in the vicinity of two years. It is designed
to improve life-outcomes for people with a Spinal Cord
Impairment (SCI) – be the impairment from an accident
or a medical condition. There are eight objectives. To
ensure that this piece of work comes to life, there is
a Spinal Cord Impairment Action Plan Governance
Committee, of which I am a member representing
the NZ Spinal Trust, and ultimately, you. There have
been positive results to date, with one of the great
outcomes being the ‘Destination Policy’: if a person has
an accident or a condition resulting in an SCI, he or she
is flown directly to one of two specialist spinal hospitals
– Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, or Christchurch
Hospital in the South Island, where specialist and expert
spinal care is provided. Children are flown directly to
Starship Hospital in Auckland. This reduces greatly the
time-frame until surgery or specialist treatment can be
carried out, therefore greatly improving outcomes for
people with a new SCI.
One particularly exciting aspect of the Action Plan in
relation to the NZ Spinal Trust is Objective 8, which is
to provide a consistent Peer Support Service throughout
New Zealand. We are working closely with our sister
organisation in Auckland, TASC (the Association
of Spinal Concerns), to ensure that this objective is
achieved. With the wonderful support of ACC, this is
becoming a reality, with a very real chance that it will
reach fruition later this year. Watch this space.
In the meantime, I urge you to download the Action Plan
and have a read – it is a powerful document.
Thanks again to all the people and organisations that
support the NZ Spinal Trust. We are looking forward
to a productive and successful 2016. Without your
support, this would not be possible, so a huge thank you
to you all.
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