Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day UK (SCIAD)

SCIAD 2026 – Friday 15 May

This spinal cord injury awareness day we will be bringing attention to the provision of spinal cord injury services and NHS England’s intention to transfer commissioning from national to local (ICB) level in April 2027.

SCIAD 2026 marks the launch of a new campaign ‘Keep it together’ … which will be focussed on ending the postcode lottery and safeguarding spinal cord injury services.

NHS England has indicated that commissioning responsibility for adult and paediatric spinal cord injury services may transfer from national specialised commissioning to Integrated Care Boards from April 2027. 

Spinal cord injury services are currently commissioned nationally because they are highly specialised, serve relatively small patient populations, and require nationally coordinated referral pathways and clinical expertise.

There are significant concerns across the spinal cord injury sector that transferring commissioning responsibility to 42 Integrated Care Boards risks increasing fragmentation within a pathway that is already under strain.

The recent APPG on Spinal Cord Injury Inquiry found that the current SCI pathway already suffers from fragmentation, variation in access to rehabilitation, and inconsistent access to long-term support and community reintegration.

Specialist Spinal Cord Injury Centres also face longstanding pressures, including limited bed capacity, ageing infrastructure, and years of underinvestment.

 

Call to action

We are asking that those within the SCI community support us by contacting your local MP, voicing your concern about the proposals and protect national coordination of spinal cord injury services. To write to your local member of parliament:

  1. Find your local MP’s name and email.
  2. Download our letter template.
  3. Put in your MP’s name, add your own contact details and the date.
  4. Change the red text, and add any information about your experiences.
  5. Save and send to your MP.

download the letter template (.doc)FIND YOUR MP CONTACT DETAILS

What is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day (SCIAD) ?

SCIAD is an annual event that raises awareness about spinal cord injury (SCI) and sheds light on the challenges faced by over 105,000 people in the United Kingdom.

In 2024 new key statistics were released that showed that the number of people sustaining and living with injuries was far higher than previously thought:

  • 4,400 people are injured or diagnosed with a spinal cord injury (SCI) every year, not 2,500 as previously thought.
  • The total size of the UK SCI population is now believed to be more than 105,000, not 50,000 as previously estimated.
  • This means that approximately every two hours someone sustains a SCI (that’s 12 people a day).

In 2025, these stats have been updated:

  • 4,700 people were injured or diagnosed with a spinal cord injury (SCI) every year. This is an increase of 300 additional cases on last years figure. 
  • The total size of the UK SCI population remains at more than 105,000. 

* The analysis was derived from multiple NHS data sources, including National Spinal Cord Injury Database and the UK Rehabilitation Outcomes Collaborative (UK ROC) covering admissions and referrals. * The calculation was based on the yearly incidences of SCI, the life expectancy of those living with SCI and the size of the total population 

 

Working together

Alongside our charity partners, we will be doing everything we can to support our members and help them overcome the daily challenges disabled people face in our society.

SCIAD 2026 (2)

Aspire | Back Up | Cauda Equina Spinal Cord injury (CESCI) | Horatio’s Garden | Inspire Foundation | Regain | Spinal Injuries Scotland | Spinal Research | Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research | WheelPower 

National Spinal Cord Injury strategy

We are a coalition of spinal cord injury (SCI) charities and partner organisations and our goal is to improve care, support, and rehabilitation for people living with SCI. Spinal cord injuries are life-changing, affecting individuals, their families, carers, and communities.

If we had a strategy, it would be a plan on what good looks like. This is your chance to shape this plan.

We are working with the NHS, government bodies, and the healthcare community to make sure the strategy prioritises:

  • Accessible rehabilitation
  • Lifelong support
  • Adequate funding and resources

FIND OUT MORE

National Spinal Cord Injury Strategy

Past SCIAD themes

How can you get involved?

We would love the spinal cord injured community to use the spotlight of this awareness day to share your own stories and experiences around this years theme.

Use the hashtag #SCIAD #SpinalCordInjuryAwarenessDay and tag SIA into your social media posts across all channels: @spinal_injuries (Instagram) and Spinal Injuries Association (Facebook), LinkedIn, BlueSky, Threads, Tik Tok and  @spinalinjuries (X).