 | Congress and Assembly of Delegates
ESCIF conference May 2009 in Vienna
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The delegates from the member countries of ESCIF met in Vienna on the 13 of May.
A number of papers on pain were presented by delegates. Pain following spinal cord
injury- Pathophysiology-Management- Therapy was presented by Gabi Kirchmair of Austria
and Gunilla Åhrén presented a paper titled ‘More knowledge – less pain’!
A number of working groups made up of delegates from various countries presented papers
on a number of topics that the Executive felt should be looked at.
Working Group 1: Spinal Cord Registers
Working Group 1 outlined what progress they had made on assessing what delegate
countries have a Spinal Cord Register. Further work in the group will include the
discussion as to what information should be recorded and how to make this information comparable from country to country (lack of uniformity in recording practices is a
major problem at the moment).
Working Group 2: Centralisation
Working Group 2, which is headed by Colm Whooley of Spinal Injuries Ireland, presented
a draft document outlining the merits of a centralised approach to spinal services.
Some of the topics they are looking at are:-
What are the perceived benefits of centralised treatment, rehabilitation and care?
Are there any drawbacks – consider, for example, geographical issues such as distance
from home, demographical issues such as population density, administrative/financing
issues etc.
What facilities should be offered by a SCI centre?
How “centralised” is “centralised”? How big does a centre need to be in order to be able
to provide the benefits suggested in the Policy Statement?
Working Group 3: Peer-Counselling/Peer Support
Working Group 3 presented a draft proposal on the benefits and best approach to developing and delivering a quality relevant Peer Counselling/Peer Support service. One of the issue that was addressed was when should the first contact be made and how should this be done.
Working Group 4: Proactive Support for Families
Working Group 4 outlined how ESCIF must define our goals and priorities in relation to proactive support for families and how the services could be improved. Finally, it is essential that we can convince the decision-makers that this kind of support is needed.
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| European Spinal Cord Injury Federation
| | | | Members and Organisations | | | | About ESCIF: | | | The vision of the federation is to improve the quality of life of people in all parts of Europe who are living with a spinal cord injury.
This will be achieved through:
The exchange of information, experience and knowledge. The pan-European network will facilitate this exchange and will work to ensure that information is available to all those living with a spinal cord injury, irrespective of country.
Establishing and promoting 'best practice'
Insights and experience gained in the individual member countries will enable ESCIF to develop guidelines for best practice in all issues affecting people living with a spinal cord injury.
The creation of a unified voice in Europe
ESCIF will use its voice to inform, represent and lobby on behalf of its members. It will work to raise awareness of the challenges that confront people living with a spinal cord injury – and it will strive to help its members to overcome these challenges.
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