Welcome to Kirsty Meets!
Each month I meet key stakeholders and business leaders in the social care sector. This month I met Mitchell Miller, Chief Executive, Astute Home Care. I caught up with Mitchell to discuss spinal injury, the right to equitable care at home, and the importance of advocacy efforts in ensuring this right.
So Mitchell, can you tell us a little about Astute Home Care?
I founded Astute with the simple idea that people living with spinal injuries and physical health conditions have the right to access equitable care at home. Our service specialises in providing 24-hour live-in care at home for people living with spinal injuries and other physical health conditions. We provide care professionals who are trained in delegated healthcare activities such as bowel care and catheter management, and they are supervised by our own in-house clinical director, who is an experienced registered nurse.
Care for those living with spinal injury forms a specific focus of your work – what drew you to this area of the sector?
I’ve served on the board of the UK’s largest advocacy charity for four and a half years, witnessing firsthand the pervasive inequality in our society. According to the Spinal Injury Association, over 50,000 people live with spinal injuries in the UK, with approximately 2,500 new cases each year. As the UK’s population grows, strain on the healthcare system worsens, which leads to a worrying trend of declining years free from disability, as highlighted by the Office for National Statistics.
With my decade of social care experience, I’ve observed significant challenges for people with spinal injuries, especially in accessing community services. Unequal distribution of care funding is a major issue, with spinal injuries receiving less attention and support due to lower public awareness and NHS cuts. Addressing these discrepancies is crucial for ensuring equitable care, requiring advocacy efforts for awareness, improved service access, and fair funding allocation.
I’m deeply passionate about addressing this inequality by enabling individuals with chronic health conditions to lead fulfilling lives in the community. Through my involvement in the charity and my work with Astute Home Care, I advocate for accessible, equitable care and support services that foster independence and dignity. It’s crucial to strive for a society where everyone, regardless of ability, can thrive and contribute meaningfully.
“Breaking the taboo around bowel care is crucial for an inclusive society”
Public awareness of spinal injury clearly plays a major role in addressing this inequality. Can you expand upon the ways in which bowel care is specifically implicated?
Breaking the taboo around bowel care is crucial for an inclusive society. Many with spinal injuries require this care, necessitating a nurse or skilled care professional. Without it, issues like constipation, incontinence, and discomfort can lead to serious health problems such as bowel obstruction and infections, impacting mobility, social life, and independence, sometimes resulting in hospitalisation.
Greater education and awareness are needed to normalise discussions and reduce stigmas surrounding bowel care, while open communication in families and healthcare settings is essential. Advocating for policy changes to prioritise these needs, which I believe constitute a basic human right often overlooked, are crucial. Peer support networks by the SIA offer emotional and practical help. With these efforts, we can break the taboo and ensure everyone receives the care they need.
Charities like the Spinal Injuries Association, with their ‘This is #SeriousSh1t‘ campaign, are thankfully addressing these issues. Shockingly, according to the SIA’s latest research, 26 NHS trusts admitted they had no bowel assessment and management policy in place at all, with 40 NHS trusts stating they had no ward-based staff skilled in supporting these patients if admitted.
Website:https://astutehomecare.co.uk/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrmmiller/
Sign the ‘This is #SeriousSh1t’ petition to require bowel care policies and specialist bowel care at all NHS hospitals:
