Rehabilitation reimagined – Modular Pods and the future of spinal injury claims

It is estimated that around 500 to 600 people in the UK sustain acute, traumatic spinal cord injuries each year. Such injuries often carry with them lengthy rehabilitation periods and the rapid need for extensive housing remodelling and, in many cases, relocation. The extensive delays associated with sourcing and securing suitable alternative accommodation for those with complex SCIs often result in the need for significant interim funding for care and temporary accommodation.

Surveys suggest that approximately 85% of spinal cord injury patients require at least one major adaptation to their property, with level-access, ground-floor wet rooms proving to be one of the most common requirements.

In this article we look at the benefits of modular pods and whether they are truly capable of providing a fast and more economical solution to otherwise expensive and drawn-out accommodation claims, without compromising on care.

Following SCI, the average inpatient rehabilitation duration is 65 days. It will come as no surprise to practitioners that research by Aspire, a charity who support individuals paralysed by spinal cord injury, suggests that 20% of people paralysed from SCI are discharged from hospital into inpatient facilities or care homes because they lack suitable housing. Being forced to leave one’s family home can often compound the injury sustained — but is there really an appropriate alternative solution?

Modular pods are off-site constructed bespoke units which can be uniquely configured to suit the layout of the original property and the injured person’s specific care and/or rehabilitation needs.

Pods can be attached to properties as an extension or placed inside an existing room within a property. They can act as wet rooms, bedrooms and much more, and can be expanded, removed or reconfigured as the occupant’s needs alter. The Foundations UK website showcases a variety of pods that have been bespoke built and fitted in existing properties: WashPod at Home | Foundations

With traditional building work, costs can be incurred repeatedly as a person’s needs change and new structures and facilities are required, and such adaptations can often take many months to complete. One also must consider the significant reinstatement work that may be required.

Modular pods, on the other hand, are factory built to specification with high levels of quality control and can be pre-configured and easily tailored at a later point, to ensure recommendations are met throughout the course of rehabilitation. The build time is a fraction of that needed to remodel a property and the delays that would typically affect traditional building work — such as planning and contractor issues, structural surveys, and weather problems affecting transport and delivery of materials — fall away.

Larger, external modular pods are typically installed within one to three days, but for internal pods, installation can often take place in less than a day, removing the need for the injured party to relocate to another suitable property for an extended period while building works are carried out. Taking the example of a wet room, a typical modular pod plus installation can cost in the region of £3,000 to £5,000, which is significantly less than the cost of traditional building adaptations.

Putting the cost benefits and lead-in time to one side, one of the biggest benefits of using modular pods is that an injured person does not need to look to relocate immediately on discharge, which could otherwise mean leaving their local community. Furthermore, having the opportunity to adapt in a familiar home environment could help promote earlier independence with activities of daily living during the rehabilitation process due to feeling more comfortable with their environment.

Perhaps the most obvious issue when considering the installation of a modular pod is the availability and suitability of space. Whilst a temporary wet-room micro pod can be placed internally in a space as small as 1.5m x 1.2m, clearly not every property can be appropriately reconfigured to include a micro pod. That said, where a property does allow it, modular pods can provide a suitable alternative to relocation and allow SCI patients to progress with their rehabilitation in their family home.

References

1. NICE Guidance – Spinal Injury Assessment
2. Hertig-Godeschalk A, Gemperli A, Arnet U, Hinrichs T; SwiSCI study group. Availability and need of home adaptations for personal mobility among individuals with spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med. 2018;41(1):91-101.
3. Whitten, T. A. et al. Predicting inpatient rehabilitation length of stay for adults with traumatic spinal cord injury. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 48(4), 593–603.
4. Aspire Research – Care Home Discharge Data
5. Dignity Access FAQs (installation time)
6. Housing LIN Report