NICE has revised their complex rehabilitation guidelines for injured parties those following traumatic injury.

What is NICE?

NICE defines a traumatic injury as any major or minor injury that requires admission to hospital when the injury occurs. This includes musculoskeletal, visceral and nerve injuries, soft tissue damage, spinal injury, limb reconstruction and limb loss. These guidelines are aimed at healthcare professionals, social care practitioners, commissioners and providers of rehabilitation services to ensure the best possible practice and outcome is offered to individuals who have experienced a traumatic injury.

Why are the NICE Guidelines required?

In England, 45,000 people are affected by severe or major trauma every year. In addition, 500,000 people will experience less severe trauma, but some of those will need hospital admission due to pre-existing conditions, disability, frailty or because the functional impact of injuries and environmental factors mean they struggle to cope in their own home. This shows the importance and relevance of NICE’s revised guidelines, focusing on people with complex rehabilitation needs after a traumatic injury.

A trauma can lead to issues with mobility, pain, cognitive function, and psychological conditions such as anxiety or depression. However, there are many ways a trauma can negatively affect physical and mental quality of life. When a traumatic injury occurs, rehabilitation assessments and early interventions are essential to help people get back to the best possible function and independence as quickly as possible.  Rehabilitation needs are individual to each person,  and these assessments need to reflect varied functional expectations, taking in to account any pre-existing conditions. All rehabilitation needs must be monitored and administered by experts who have a wealth of knowledge in their field and can support injured parties and their families through the process, helping to break down barriers to recovery. Corporé possesses this wealth of experience with our expert Case Managers. We understand how difficult it can be for those who experience traumatic injury, so we make it our top priority to support them back to the best outcome possible.

NICE Guidelines have always been part of Corporé’s best practices.

This revision to traumatic injury rehabilitation guidelines is a welcome addition for Corporé. The best practices that we already have in use are now supported by highly regarded and accredited guidelines. The focus on regular assessments, reviews and goal planning with the injured party is an approach we already use. There are a number of references to including the injured party, their family and, where applicable, carers in the rehabilitation process, mirroring Corporé’s holistic approach. No wonder Corporé is one of the UK’s leading providers in rehabilitation case management. We ensure the injured party is our number one priority in everything that we do. -

We recognise that to offer optimum recovery, a multi-disciplinary specialist team may be needed. Our clinically qualified case managers have experience managing and communicating with these groups already, including injury and mental health specialists, to ensure the recovery pathway is clear and focused on the injured party’s best outcome. This collaborative approach relies on constant and open communication, following NICE guidelines, and also echoing Corporé methods. We believe in the power of togetherness in aiding recovery; the journey is communicated clearly with progress reviews reported to all relevant parties, and goals are generated to focus optimum outcomes.

Together we’re better.

Whilst the guidelines outline the importance of a combined team approach in aiding recovery following a traumatic injury, they also encourage self-management at every stage of the rehabilitation process to help the injured party gain back independence.  We believe personal progress leads to quicker recovery, which is why we actively encourage self-management throughout the rehabilitation process. Our case managers support the full rehabilitative process, setting achievable and realistic goals for injured parties. These goals are generated to focus recovery, setting achievable, progressive steps that allow the injured party to accomplish their rehabilitation.

For insurers, this provides a quicker, comprehensive recovery by following a progressive goal focused approach.

Emily Nash, Corporé’s Clinical Quality Manager, agrees with how NICE’s guidelines shape our approach to rehabilitation, stating, “It is good to see that our best practice model and processes were already so closely aligned with the recommended NHS pathways. We had been monitoring the guidelines for a number of years and this is a welcome next step in the provision of rehabilitation best practice.”

Supporting Corporé’s best practices, the guidelines also suggest the use of extra assessments in the rehabilitation process. This includes evaluating the injured person’s diet and nutritional habits, suggesting this can affect their journey to recovery. Whilst Corporé has always undertaken holistic assessments of injured parties, it is reassuring to now be supported by accredited guidelines, confirming the use of our expert approach in rehabilitation.

The guidelines also emphasise the importance of psychological assessments and mental health care to support the path to recovery. Within the guidelines, psychological assessments range from evaluating wellbeing, suggesting the use of tools and exercises to offer coping strategies, to specialised psychiatric help for those whose conditions have worsened or developed as a result of their traumatic injury. The development of psychological assessments in these revised guidelines outlines Corporé’s enhanced focus on the wellbeing and mental health of our injured parties. With the upcoming launch of our new digital psychological support tools, and now the backing of NICE’s revised guidelines, we are confident that we’re offering the most comprehensive rehabilitation.

Corporé is supported now more than ever with the introduction of NICE’s revised guidelines. We will continue to offer rehabilitation best practice to provide the most successful outcome for injured parties.

Contact us today if you need support and guidance following a traumatic injury.

If you would like to find further details about the NICE guidelines, please click here