Petition Urges Action on Spinal Injury Care Crisis

The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) has delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to end the postcode lottery in spinal injury care.

A new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) reveals that thousands of people who sustain spinal cord injuries in the UK face a system where recovery depends on chance, not national standards—leading to devastating physical and mental health consequences.

Every two hours in the UK, someone’s life changes forever due to spinal cord injury. 

These injuries often result in lifelong paralysis, chronic pain, and loss of bladder, bowel, and sexual function. Yet, according to the SIA, only 1 in 5 patients receives specialist rehabilitation at a spinal centre, leaving the majority without adequate support.

Many cannot return home due to inaccessible housing, lack of specialist expertise in their community, and a complete absence of mental health provision. The SIA ‘What Matters Report 2025’ states that 65% report serious mental health struggles.

The APPG report, backed by consultants, healthcare professionals across almost every NHS Trust, seven of the eight Spinal Cord Injury Centres, the Royal College of Nursing, partner charities, and Parliamentarians from both Houses, calls for urgent national standards to replace the current fragmented system.

“I’ve heard from clinicians, researchers, charities, and—most importantly—people living with SCI,” said Andy McDonald MP, Chair of the APPG for Spinal Cord Injury.

“Their message is clear: the system is failing them. What should be a pathway of recovery has become a maze of delay, fragmentation, and inequality. This is not just a healthcare issue. It is a question of dignity, equality, and national leadership.”

Spinal Injuries Association warns this is not just about improving outcomes for SCI patients—it sets a precedent for how the UK treats long-term neurological and complex conditions such as stroke, brain injury, MS, and MND, all of which suffer from similar fragmentation.

For a full copy of the APPG Inquiry visit: Fragmented to Coordinated: Building a National Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury report launched by APPG

Photo caption: From left to right, John Glen MP, Dharshana Sridhar, Nik Hartley OBE, Zoe Fox, Dani Czernuszka-Watts, George Atwell, Glyn Hayes, Andy McDonald MP, Mark Ridler, Faisal Hussain.