What is Spinal Accord?
Spinal Accord is a coalition of spinal injury centres, charities, and practitioners committed to translating national strategy into SCI care excellence.
The "Why"
In 2024, a major national consultation was launched to answer the question;
"Do we need a standardized Spinal Cord Injury strategy?"
The research, which involved the leading organisations, charities and consultants in the SCI space, was a great success, highlighting the greatest needs as expressed by SCI victims.
And while the national consultation has set the vision for a unified Spinal Injury Strategy, Spinal Accord focuses on implementation—creating standardised, evidence-based training and workforce tools that bring that vision to life.
The Vision
To create the UK’s first cross-sector framework for spinal injury care training—endorsed by clinical experts, powered by lived experience, and aligned with the forthcoming national SCI Strategy.
By forming a coalition of industry experts, practitioners and advocates, we aim to create:
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Standardised competencies for every level of carer and clinician.
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A patient-voice model embedded in all training modules.
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A “Spinal-Ready” kitemark for agencies meeting national standards.
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Public reporting of outcomes and improvements.
What We're
Building
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National Competency Framework: Drafted with input from SCI centres and charities.
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Spinal Care Training Pathway: 12 modules mapped to the Strategy’s 11 Priority Actions.
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Pilot Programme: Testing workforce outcomes with early adopter agencies.
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Data Dashboard: Publishing measurable results and patient impact indicators.