We’re a young organisation – a start-up, but in 2022 we were quite busy:

–                In March, a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cerebral Palsy, co-sponsored by us, set out the minimum requirements for proper coordinated healthcare for adults with Cerebral Palsy. Key recommendations included the need for regional specialised support services, clear care pathways, and annual patient reviews. At present, none of this is available as care drops off a cliff face for anyone with Cerebral Palsy when they turn 18.

–                We also commissioned a health economics study to calculate the cost of the package needed to provide proper healthcare: £20m per annum, equivalent to 42p per day for each of the UK’s 130,000 adults with Cerebral Palsy. Such a package would deliver considerable savings from preventing future costly healthcare, and, with healthier people being able to work, reduce the costs of benefits and increase tax revenue. Indeed, the study showed that if just 4,000 more adults with Cerebral Palsy gained employment, this would generate an economic gain of £80m per annum.

–                In July, we held a conference entitled Time for a new approach to adults with Cerebral Palsy, at the Royal Society of Medicine, bringing together for the first time over 250 clinicians, researchers and adults with Cerebral Palsy to discuss innovative solutions for a better future.

–                On World CP Day, 6 October, we sent every MP a card with 42p as part of our campaign calling on the Government to provide proper healthcare for adults with Cerebral Palsy.

–                In November, we launched our Working Group comprising key clinical and political advisers, together with members of the community of adults with Cerebral Palsy, to advance the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group.

And this is in addition to the direct enhancement we seek to bring to the quality of life of our community, through our Midweek Matters virtual networking events, which cover topics such as adaptive fashion, parenting with Cerebral Palsy and mental health. This is supplemented by digital engagement through our social media channels and this website, which we hope provides helpful content and advice for our community, their families and their employers.

2023 IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER

There’s so much we need to do to help improve the lives of adults with Cerebral Palsy and we’re determined that 2023 will be full of opportunities. Here are few of the initiatives we are planning:

–                Following on from our approach to MPs, we’ll be taking our 42p Campaign to the House of Lords to seek more political support for the implementation of the recommendations of the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cerebral Palsy

–                In February, we’ll hold the second meeting of the Working Group to progress in particular our work with the clinical community

–                In May, our CEO Emma Livingstone will be the Keynote Speaker at the EACD Conference

–                June is when we’ll hold our Transition Summit ’23 together with a group of other leading CP charities, a first in the UK to support teenagers with Cerebral Palsy making the transition to adult life and their families

–                For our 1st Birthday in July, we’ll have a very special celebration – details to follow!

–                September will see us involved in British Fashion Week, helping brands to understand the needs of our community for adaptive fashion, as well as much better customer experience

–                6 October is World CP Day, which we will be marking in a unique way

And as always, we’ll be pushing for much more than this to support our community and in particular the launch of a National Cerebral Palsy Helpline.