Darlington MP Peter Gibson met with representatives of Headway Darlington & District at their spring conference today (19.05.2023)
Headway Darlington & District situated in Unit 1F Enterprise House, 1 Valley Street is a local charity who work with adults with traumatic and acquired brain injury across Darlington, the Dales, Tees Valley, and North Yorkshire, supporting people affected by brain injury. They also offer support, advice & education to survivors and their families.
The Headway Darlington & District Conference held at the Mercure hotel in Darlington saw a host of speakers including, Dr Geoff Hill, Consultant Neuropsychologist, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Dr Janet Walker, Medical Director, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Headway Darlington & District’s annual conference theme was “Every 90 Seconds Counts”, to coincide with Acquired Brian Injury Week.
The aim of the conference was to highlight that earlier intervention post-discharge vastly aids TBI recovery, with Darlington and the Tees Valley experiencing longstanding issues with post-discharge resource, meaning that Headway groups have played a particularly vital role in supporting brain injury survivors and their families.
Peter Gibson MP said “It was great to speak at Headway Darlington & District’s annual conference, brain injury can happen to anyone at any time and can transform any aspect of a person due to often complex cognitive, behavioural, emotional, and physical changes”
“It was great to see so many people sharing their experiences and to hear about the great working being done locally by Headway Darlington & District”
Gary Emerson, Chair of Headway Darlington and District said “Over 50 people came together on the 19th May to talk about acquired brain injury in Darlington including contributions from those affected by brain injury and their carer's.
“It’s important that people get access to quality care and support once they are discharged from hospital and its often up to organisations like Headway to fill the gaps left by the statutory sector.
“We raise tens of thousands of pounds each year from fundraising and charitable trusts but the NHS and Social Services must do more by funding some of these services themselves."
