This article is from page 11 of the 2006-10-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
LABOUR Affairs Minister, Tony Killeen, officially opened an information and education event for Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), their families and carers, healthcare workers and professionals in Limerick last week.
The day was a collaboration spearheaded by The Peter Bradley Foundation, the ABI specific service provider, in partnership with BRÍ, the national ABI advocacy association.
The aim of the event was to give those affected by brain injury an opportunity to listen to a range of ABI specialists and to share their personal experiences of living with an ABI.
Minister Killeen said that, “every year about 10,000 people in Ireland are admitted to hospital with a head injury. Sadly, many of these suffer long-term ill-effects. Advances in medical science have dramatically improved survival rates. However, brain injured people and their families face huge challenges when they are discharged from hospital. Today, we seek to ensure that the gaps in the service are pinpointed and addressed”.
Mick Clavin, Chairman of BRÍ, highlighted that “brain injured people and their families can reach their fullest potential by pooling their experience in living with brain injury, and by seeking and advocating for and influencing the development of specialist rehabilitation services.
“If you want to know what a brain injured person wants, you ask a brain injured person”.