Guidelines for Admission

Once a spinal cord lesion has been diagnosed, a member of the referring medical team should telephone the Spinal Cord Injury Centre and discuss the patient with the spinal injuries consultant on call.

An online referral must also be completed via nww.spinalreferrals.nhs.uk (N.B. this is not a misprint - this website is only accessible from an NHS system.)

Every new referral is registered on a database. Once a referral has been received, the Acute Outreach Service will be initiated. This service is led by Spinal Nurse Practitioner Elaine Gaffney and her team who will undertake an acute outreach visit as appropriate. They also provide a comprehensive telephone service.

Contact details for The Acute Outreach Service:

• Danilo Galila 01722 336262 Ext. 2451 email: danilo.galila@nhs.net
• Paul McQuaid 01722 336262 Ext. 2436 email: Paul.mcquaid@nhs.net
• Maddie Turner 01722 336262 Ext. 2108 email: Maddie.turner@nhs.net 
  

Patients Requiring Ventilation

The Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment accepts patients requiring ventilatory support, both long term (domiciliary ventilation) and those with the potential to wean from invasive and non invasive forms of mechanical ventilation.

Services Not Normally Provided by the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre

• Progressive diseases of the central nervous system (including malignant disease involving the spinal cord)
• Cerebrovascular events
• Injuries to the brain, not including the spinal cord
• Cases of Spina Bifida
• Cerebral Palsy
• Patients with major mental health disorders which may interfere with physical treatment/rehabilitation, or those sectioned under the MHA
• Severe brain injury with a significant cognitive deficit or behavioural problems
• Those patients with co morbidities which may affect their ability to undertake spinal rehabilitation

Those whose family/social support would make it difficult for them to commit to a lengthy admission to the spinal centre may be offered alternative options such as a multidisciplinary day assessment or planned short rehabilitation programme.