A former Isle of Wight business executive has shared her powerful story of going from earning a six-figure salary to living in her car, as MPs and brain injury experts call for a new statutory ‘Right to Rehab’ to support people recovering from brain injuries.
Annie Ricketts was once a successful chief executive and entrepreneur. But after falling from a horse in July 2000, she suffered a traumatic brain injury that changed her life overnight.
Despite the severity of the injury, Annie says she was left unconscious for 9 hours in A&E at Salisbury District Hospital, discharged with only a handwritten note and no scans or follow-up care. Her medical notes stated she was elderly and deaf, despite being only 36 at the time.
With no rehabilitation or support plan, Annie found herself unable to work and was eventually made homeless. She lived in her car and struggled to manage basic tasks, despite once leading a high-flying career and supporting her teenage daughter. It took 4 years for her to access a neuropsychologist.
Annie has said:
“It would take me hours to do something simple like fill a bucket. I got fired from a cleaning job and ended up homeless. I left hospital with a piece of paper that says ‘you have a severe brain injury’ – that was the extent of the discharge plan.”
Now, Annie is using her experience to campaign for change. Yesterday (Wednesday) she told her story to MPs at a special meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Acquired Brain Injury, calling for a national ‘Right to Rehab’.
A new joint report from the APPG and UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF) highlights the annual £43billion cost of brain injuries to the UK economy, including lost productivity, NHS care, and social services. The report recommends a legally enforceable right to specialist rehabilitation, led by clinical experts in every UK region.
Sir John Hayes MP, Chair of the APPG, has said:
“This isn’t just a debilitating condition for those impacted, who may find themselves suddenly unable to work, function or walk in the way they are used to, it is also a huge cost to society and the economy.
“If we are to treat some of the most serious societal problems including addiction, mental health crises and violence, we need to look at the root cause – which in the majority of cases is a brain injury.”
Statistics show that around 350,000 people are admitted to hospital each year with an acquired brain injury. Research also shows that up to 60% of prisoners have experienced a traumatic brain injury, and half of all homeless people have a history of brain trauma.
The report says investing in neuro-rehabilitation offers a 16:1 benefit-cost ratio, with a £43,000 investment per patient delivering up to £680,000 in savings to the health and care system.
Annie now volunteers to support others with acquired brain injuries and says earlier access to rehabilitation could have helped her reclaim years of her life.
You are better looked after these days by being some sort of low life scum waste of space, than you are if you are retired or sick
From what I read and hear on a daily basis,
better still if arriving in the country by dinghy.
Oh yes, our own being crapped on from every height and direction, and the shit show welcomes them with open arms and free hand outs, while we get screwed out of our life long payments to finance it. Then, there they all are,can’t work out why we don’t want the bastards in there. Coming out here in the real world with their heads down from up their own arses would soon reveal where the problem lies