Brain injury rehab reinstated after feedback

A rehabilitation service for people with brain injuries, which was due to be scrapped in a cost-cutting move, has been reinstated after a "rallying call of support".

Last year, the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it would not be renewing a contract in Bungay, Suffolk due to "financial pressures".

Specialist provider Shaftesbury Icanho - formerly known as Livability Icanho - has been told it can continue its satellite service for 12 months following what the ICB described as "additional information and feedback".

"This satellite service provides a lifeline to people in Waveney when they need it most," said Jane Percy, Shaftesbury's executive director for care operations.

She added: "We are thrilled to hear that this service can resume and once again serve people in the Waveney area who will be able to benefit from the same specialist service as other Suffolk residents.

"There is simply no other provision that matches the work locally, supporting complex neuro rehabilitation cases via a highly specialist multi-disciplinary approach."

When the closure was announced, patients faced travelling to the provider's main branch in Stowmarket.

Sara Hazzard, assistant director at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, had called the decision " deeply troubling".

Shaftesbury said it received a "substantial rallying call of support" from referring health care providers and professional bodies, clients and local community groups, which asked the ICB to review the decision to end the contract.

Healthwatch Suffolk, which uses feedback from patients to help commission services, welcomed the news that the ICB had "listened to concerns and reviewed their initial decision".

"We commend the retention of this critical service, which will ensure patients in Waveney can still access potentially life-changing neurological injury rehabilitation when needed," added its chief executive Andy Yacoub.

"We hope this is a lasting decision that will extend for the foreseeable future."

Shaftesbury Icanho said it would work closely with the ICB to consider its long-term requirements.

NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: "Following additional information and feedback, we have extended the Livability Icanho contract to December 2025.

"This extension allows us to further review service provision across the system, speak with patients, carers and professionals, and explore future options which provide quality care and value for money for people in Norfolk and Waveney."

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