Join us for an insight-led day exploring how combining clinical expertise with lived experience can improve outcomes for people with spinal cord injuries.
Across the day, we’ll follow the patient journey, starting in the acute phase and moving through rehabilitation, recovery and life beyond injury. We’ll examine the critical early decisions that shape long-term outcomes and explore how getting the foundations right can set patients on the best possible path.
Through expert panels and real-life perspectives, we’ll look at how clinical decision-making translates into everyday impact for patients. We’ll highlight where perspectives align, where challenges remain, and what we can learn from both.
We’ll then turn to life after discharge, often the point when the reality of injury truly takes hold. We’ll explore how support at this stage influences both clinical outcomes and quality of life and ask what “successful rehabilitation” really means in practice. We’ll also consider the vital role of psychological adjustment, resilience and long-term support.
As the day progresses, we’ll focus on rebuilding independence, including returning to work. We’ll examine the barriers individuals face, the practical steps that can support successful reintegration, and the role professionals play in making this achievable.
We’ll close by looking ahead. Building on the day’s discussions, we’ll consider how lived experience can be better embedded into training, policy and service development to improve patient outcomes and drive meaningful change in spinal cord injury care.
This is a thought-provoking event designed to deliver real insight you can take back into your role—helping you make a difference where it matters most.
Alongside our conference programme, we are delighted to host an exhibition area showcasing many of the country's leading spinal cord injury charities. We encourage you to visit the exhibitors, meet their teams, learn about the invaluable work they do, and explore the support, resources and opportunities available to individuals affected by spinal cord injury.
Irwin Mitchell are an APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) accredited law firm, which provides quality marks demonstrating the competence and specialist expertise of solicitors and barristers dealing with personal injury claims. We will be providing all delegates with a certificate of attendance to use as evidence for their own CPD records at the end of the conference.
Panel Discussion - Building a Collaborative Future in SCI Care
• Dr Dharshana Sridhar - Head of Public Affairs, Spinal Injuries Association
• Neelam Kaur-Gupta - Founder and Managing Director, Calidus Care
• Glynis Kenny - Director/Case Manager/Care Expert, Spinal Injury Case Management LTD
• Dr Rohit Bhide - Consultant in Spinal Injuries & Rehabilitation Medicine
Jack Sims is the founder and Director of Adaptiv Mobility. After sustaining a spinal cord injury whilst cycling in the French Alps in 2016, he turned his focus towards one simple goal - finding a way back to the outdoors that had always been such a huge part of his life.
Before his injury, Jack was a bicycle mechanic and lifelong mountain biker. Following his accident, he was to find equipment that would reconnect him with the outdoors. He quickly realised that the right equipment doesn't just improve mobility - it can transform confidence, mental wellbeing and quality of life. Drawing on his technical background in the cycle industry, he spent years testing, modifying and understanding what genuinely works, and just as importantly, what doesn't.
In 2020, Jack founded Adaptiv Mobility with a simple mission: to introduce other disabled people to the equipment that had transformed his own life. What began as a business centred around adaptive cycling quickly became something much bigger, as it became clear the conversation wasn't really about cycling at all - it was about access. For Jack, cycling had simply been the vehicle that allowed him to reconnect with nature and the outdoors. Today, the company imports and supplies some of the world's leading adaptive cycling, wheelchair and specialist mobility brands, working closely with therapists, case managers and rehabilitation professionals to provide equipment that enables individuals to achieve their maximum potential - not simply meet their minimum needs.
Jack combines lived experience with technical expertise. His passion is helping people move beyond basic mobility, giving them the confidence and equipment to return to the places, activities and lifestyles that matter most. Whether that's navigating everyday life or exploring forests, mountains and beaches, his belief remains the same: disability should never mean the end of adventure.
Iwan enjoyed the gym and a range of sports prior to his injury. Since then he has been keen to explore different sports and has already tried climbing, tennis and table tennis. He is particularly interested in taking up rowing, badminton and golf, wanting to focus on aspects beyond the usual physiotherapy. Sports offer a different element of challenge and enjoyment, also an opportunity to meet new people. A way of furthering his recovery in a fresh and motivating way.
Before the crash he worked for Volkswagen and has since returned to the company. He has been attending Hobbs Rehabilitation for three years, where he has made strong progress, and continues his rehabilitation there while exploring these new sporting interests.
Mark McIntosh is a Specialist Amputee and Neurological Physiotherapist at Hobbs Rehabilitation and leads the Amputee & Trauma service based in Bristol and Chedington, Dorset.
Mark has a particular interest in merging his love of the outdoors and adaptive sport instruction with his clients. Whilst abroad, Mark set up New Zealand’s first funded adaptive sports service. He has developed a real passion for the ‘weird and wonderful’ or problems that require a bit of lateral thought.
Neelam founded Calidus Care Consultancy in May 2025. Neelam has worked within the complex care sector for 13 years and within business development for 16 years.
Neelam is truly proud to have worked closely with Children and Adults with Spinal Cord Injuries, Brain Injuries and many with life-limiting conditions, ensuring they have the best level of bespoke care and support within their own homes nationally.
Neelam’s main goal is to ensure that individuals with complex care needs can thrive and live beautiful lives in their own homes, with tailored packages of care built around them to suit their specific needs, wishes, goals and aspirations. Neelam also wishes to raise the standards of care within the community, providing training, support and guidance to complex care providers and referrers accordingly.
Neelam works closely with the Spinal Injuries Association, by volunteering as Fundraising Team in Lead in Birmingham, to raise funds and awareness for the SIA. Neelam also works in partnership with the Child Brain Injury Trust. Neelam also provides pro-bono advocacy support for individuals who are challenging funding decisions with their local ICBs and Local Authorities, supporting many individuals with SCI to access more funding and support, to enable them to thrive after injury.
Katya Halsall is a Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant and Employment Expert with over 20 years of experience in vocational rehabilitation and return-to-work planning.
Since 1996, she has worked alongside case managers, solicitors and individuals with serious injuries, delivering specialist vocational rehabilitation services to people with orthopaedic, spinal, brain and psychological injuries.
Katya specialises in preparing rehabilitation reports, conducting functional capacity evaluations, identifying functionally suitable occupations, career redirection, vocational case management, and developing bespoke return-to-work plans.
Her work is underpinned by a functional approach to assessing capacity for work. By matching an individual's functional abilities and limitations to the demands of specific occupations, she identifies realistic and sustainable employment options. This evidence-based approach forms the foundation of her opinions on the types of work an individual can and cannot undertake following injury or illness.
As an Employment Expert, Katya also prepares independent expert reports for the courts on employability, vocational capacity and future earnings.
She is a regular speaker on vocational rehabilitation, functional capacity for work and return-to-work strategies, and is passionate about helping injured individuals maximise their vocational potential while supporting the professionals involved in their rehabilitation.
My name is Chris Etches. After sustaining an incomplete spinal cord injury in 2020, I returned to work as a driving instructor and later supported others affected by spinal cord injury through my role as a Support Coordinator with the Spinal Injuries Association.
I currently work as a Paralegal in Irwin Mitchell’s Serious Injury team while studying for a law degree to progress my career in law.
Dr. Dharshana Sridhar is Head of Public Affairs at the Spinal Injuries Association and a public policy leader whose career spans government, healthcare, academia, and international development. She leads the organisation’s national public affairs, policy, and campaigning work to improve the lives of people living with spinal cord injury. She also serves as a Consultant Advisor to the UK Government and an Independent Advisor to the Prime Minister, as well as a Development Advisor to UN Women and Ambassador to the United Nations for the Oxford University’s Centre for Hindu Studies.
Previously, she spent more than 22 years in senior government, including in the Prime Minister’s Office, advising successive Prime Ministers on domestic and international policy, leading the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, and serving on the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. Her wider experience includes the NHS, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and representing the UK at the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.
Originally trained as a medical doctor and geneticist, she worked on the Human Genome Project, contributing to the international effort to map and sequence the human genome. She is a Rhodes Scholar, holds a master’s degree in political science and a PhD in socio-legal studies, and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, in recognition of her contribution to UK domestic and foreign policy. She is also a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, a Visiting Researcher at Cardiff University, and a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard University. Dharshana serves as an advisor to the King’s Trust and the Wellcome Trust, is Vice Chair of Trustees for Peterborough Women’s Aid, a trustee of the Women’s Interfaith Network and Sri Gnanananda Giri Peetam, and a local councillor.
Glynis Kenny has been a trained nurse for over 44 years, working in Spinal Cord injury for 30 years. She started as a Rehabilitation case manager in 2000. Set up Spinal injury Case Management in 2010. She continues to provide CM and expert work for those with SCI albeit on a much reduced case load these days.
Dr Bhide is a registered specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine and currently works as a Consultant in Spinal Injuries and Amputee & Prosthetics at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He works at the Princess Royal Spinal Cord Injuries Centre for the Spinal Injuries service and at the Mobility and Specialised Rehabilitation Centre for the Amputee and Prosthetics service, where he is also currently the clinical lead.
His primary training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was from CMC, Vellore, followed by two fellowships in MSK and Spinal Cord Medicine from Toronto and Sheffield.
He is a Fellow of the European Board of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (FEBPRM) and of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP). Having completed the 3 Diplomas - MSK Medicine, Exercise Medicine and Team Care, he was awarded the Membership of the Faculty of Sports & Exercise Medicine (MFSEM)
His areas of interest include:
Spinal cord injury – Management of acute and chronic spinal cord related issues with special focus on MSK and secondary health complications.
Amputee and Prosthetics - Development of a holistic pathway for management of pain and secondary issues following amputation.
Musculoskeletal disorders - Non-operative interventional management & rehabilitation of various musculoskeletal disorders, muscle physiology, biomechanics and
conditioning of individuals with impairments and injuries.
Complex pain management – Holistic management of chronic pain conditions.
Altaf Mangera is a consultant urologist and senior lecturer working at the Princess Royal spinal Injuries centre, Royal Hallamshire Hospital and University of Sheffield. He is the lead urologist at the Spinal injuries centre and is the director for the national Spinal Injuries Urology Course. He is currently the national audit steering committee lead for the British Association of Urological Surgeons.
He graduated, with Honours, from the University of Sheffield, Faculty of Medicine in 2005. He was the first scholar ever to be awarded a two-year fellowship from the Urology foundation and has subsequently completed his M.D. thesis in the field of tissue engineering for stress urinary incontinence. His international experience includes visiting neuro-urology centres in Paris, Zurich, Belgium and the USA.
He continues to be involved in research for patients with neuropathic bladder, bowels and sexual dysfunction and is invited to lecture internationally. He has authored more than 100 papers published in journals and book chapters. His specialist interests include reconstructive urology, neuropathic bladder, neuropathic bowel, tissue engineering, andrology, sexual dysfunction and fertility.
