Over the past few months the SIA Healthcare team have been working hard, talking to people about the benefits of joining and discussing any fears that they might have about switching to a new service. We thought it was time that you got to know the team a bit better so we spoke to Pete Hutchings and Stephen Burns, our new SIA Healthcare Outreach Relationship Managers. Here they tell us a bit about themselves, their own experience since making the switch to SIA Healthcare and how they are supporting others across the UK.
Stephen Burns
Outreach Relationship Manager
My name is Stephen Burns and I am an Outreach Relationship Manager for SIA Healthcare. I am an established, long term wheelchair user, having been a paraplegic for nearly 30 years. I have worked within the continence industry for 18 years and have built extensive experience working within Spinal Cord Injury Centres (SCIC) and supporting spinal cord injured people.
From my own experience, the first 18 months after injury were particularly difficult especially in terms of managing my bladder and bowel. At the time there was limited help and support and I am delighted to see that this has improved dramatically for spinal cord injured people.
Most recently these services have been enhanced further with the Spinal Injuries Association launching SIA Healthcare – a dedicated home delivery service that will provide spinal cord injured people with all of their urology and stoma appliances and prescription medication, delivering it discreetly to their door. I am delighted to be part of this new, innovative service – it is so simple and if it can help to make even one individuals life easier that is a good day at the office for me!
In my role as Outreach Relationship Manager a large part of my work involves supporting the newly injured in many areas, and most specifically with the effective management of, and the crucial impact of, bladder and bowel conditions. I knowfirst hand how important this support and advice can be! I also actively support healthcare professionals across the UK as our relationship with healthcare professionals within Spinal Cord Injured Centres (SCIC) and District General Hospitals (DGH) are a vital link in the provision of our support.
Pete Hutchings
Outreach Relationship Manager
My name is Pete Hutchings and I am an Outreach Relationship manager for SIA Healthcare. Here is a little bit of my story…
In April 1998 I underwent aortic surgery – unfortunately there were a number of complications which, as a result, left me paralysed at T10/12. I struggled at first to get my head around things but with the support of my family, close friends and especially my partner I slowly started to adjust. I worked hard during my therapy sessions and steadily started gaining my independence.
The support and advice that I received from my peers was also invaluable and I am delighted to be able to offer similar support in my role as Outreach relationship Manager for SIA Healthcare.
The Spinal Injuries Association have been providing spinal cord injured people and their families with support and advice for 40 years and throughout this time have continually reviewed and developed their service provisions, ensuring that their services are modern, relevant and truly reflect the needs of spinal cord injured people. Most recently these services have been enhanced further with the launch of SIA Healthcare – a dedicated home delivery service that will provide spinal cord injured people with all of their urology and stoma appliances and prescription medication and deliver it discreetly to their door.
Being able to talk to people who understand about the real, and sometimes sensitive, issues such as bowel and bladder management has been invaluable throughout the past 30 years. I have been humbled, and very fortunate to work alongside and support some remarkable people over the years and I am looking forward to continuing this in my role as Outreach Relationship Manager for SIA Healthcare.