On 7th November we held our internal conference at the Crowne Plaza, Plymouth. We were delighted to be joined by all of our case manager colleagues, our office support team, many of the solicitors we work with and presenters and exhibitors.
The day started with some coffee, pastries and networking and first thing we got straight into it with Jon – The Wellbeing Guy. Jon is an inspirational speaker and an authority on emotional health, wellbeing and managing life’s challenges. Jon’s work is informed by his knowledge of physiology, psychology and personal development and underpinned by his clinical background as both a physiotherapist and psychotherapist. Jon broke down the importance of wellbeing in all aspects of life and (despite what Google and advertising will tell you) how simple wellbeing is to achieve. He then went on to discuss the power of laughter in everyday life and took us through a laughter yoga session. It was a great way to warm us all up for the day ahead and put us in a positive mindset for the day. Shout out to Wendy for winning the rock, paper, scissors competition and commiserations to Hannah.
Next, we had an informative presentation from Glenn Hotchin from PLG specialist accommodation consultants. He talked through differences between renting accommodation for a client with complex needs as a short-term solution, quicker and cost-effective option versus buying accommodation and the organising of adaptations which comes with it.
Following a coffee break Ramsey Hulbert from Innova Care Concepts and Dale Spademan from Pressalit spoke to us about their respective companies and the work they do with clients. They both exhibited – Ramsey showing us examples of hydrotherapy installations in the home and Dale discussing and showing specialist bathroom equipment for the home.
Harvinder Kaur and Adam Curry from Fieldfisher provided an excellent presentation, speaking about the interaction between lawyer and case managers. It was great to hear the claimant team’s perspective on the rehabilitation team and solicitor relationship and the importance of this that. They spoke about settling claims and what is taken into consideration in this process. Overall, the whole presentation was so useful for all of our case managers and their practice.
Beyond Mobility exhibited with us and had an excellent stand with several of their wheelchairs on display including:
- The Permobil M3 Corpus.
- The Permobil F5 Corpus VS.
- The Aria Wheels 1.0.
Craig spoke briefly to us before lunch about Beyond Mobility and the services they provide.
After a delicious lunch and spectacular views in the Marco Pierre White restaurant in the penthouse of Crowne Plaza, we took some time to view all of the exhibitors stands before carrying on with the afternoon.
After lunch we were joined by Alexandra Pearson from Clyde & Co. Alexandra kindly provided a Defendant’s perspective of working with case managers and the claimant team and highlighted how the need for collaboration, communication and keeping the client at the centre of discussions is always the best way to achieve the optimum outcomes for clients.
Following Alexandra, we were joined by Scott from Dorset Orthopaedic. He spoke about the specialist prosthetics and orthotics the company offer. Dorset Orthopaedic has grown over the years and now offer 10 clinics/satellite clinics throughout the UK, which gives patients an option of where to attend for treatment – something so important to them which often isn’t an option in many parts of their rehabilitation journey. Scott was kind enough to share his own personal experiences with our conference and was joined by John, a patient of Dorset Orthopaedic. Following a road traffic accident three years ago, John has had extensive rehabilitation and by using a Reaktiv brace, has so far managed to avoid amputation of his leg below the knee. John spoke openly and honestly to our group about his experience with Dorset Orthopaedic and his whole rehabilitation journey. It was great to hear a patient’s perspective.
Last presentation of the day was Daniel from Chroma. Daniel had also exhibited all day with his colleague Lucy. His presentation showed the power of music therapies on clients with brain injuries and bought with him some real case examples of music therapy. He should how cost-effective a rehabilitation it can be and what a benefit clients can get out of it.
The whole day was so informative, a great chance to network and put faces to names. Speaking with solicitors, equipment providers and therapists gave our SSCM team new ideas and practices to take away with them. We really enjoyed the day and have had fantastic feedback from all delegates attending and speakers.
Watch this space for next year’s conference!
