STOP THIS SUFFERING

NURSES, carers and politicians are all backing a major campaign to stop spinal cord injured patients suffering appalling neglect by being denied essential bowel care.

Politicians of all parties came together in Parliament to hear calls for an end to the “needless suffering” experienced in a medical setting by many whose bladder and bowel function is affected by injury.

The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) says specialist bowel care is an issue that has been routinely ignored by policy makers for years, with serious consequences for patients.

A spinal cord injury affects all bodily functions below the point of injury including bladder and bowel function.

Many patients have told the charity shocking stories of neglect, like Heather Scott from Leicestershire.

She said: “I was instructed to get on with my own bowel care even if that meant messing the bed, so I soiled myself many times.

Humiliated

“I’ve been spinal cord injured for over 40 years and have never felt as humiliated and frustrated as I did then.”

Another, Terry Turner from Liverpool, said of his experience of poor bowel care: “If that was animals in a zoo the bosses would be jailed, and the zoo closed down.”

Dave Bracher, SIA’s campaigns manager, said: “Many will be shocked and appalled to hear the stories we are going to be sharing, but this is the reality of life for far too many spinal cord injured people.”

Mohammed Belal, a consultant urological surgeon at University Hospital Birmingham, sustained a spinal cord injury after being struck by a tree in 2021. He believes the hardest part of his recovery was the bowel care.

Mr Belal said: ”Poor bowel care can have significant mental and emotional effects, with a decreased quality of life, social isolation, and depression. It is so important to get it right.”