Sacha Paynter from Bristol has won the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF) Film Award for her film ‘Talking Benefits’, sponsored by Cygnet Health Care.
Sacha’s short film looks at the importance of neurorehabilitation for individuals who have had an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). The film is based on Sacha’s personal family experiences of ABI, and being a carer for both parents who had a brain injury at different times in her life. Sacha’s father had a brain aneurysm when she was a teenager, which sadly resulted in his death, and her mother had a stroke a few years ago.
Commenting on film Sacha said: “My mum received neurorehabilitation in hospital and it was really successful. It’s essential that people have early access to neurorehabilitation following a brain injury like a stroke or an aneurysm, and I’ve seen the wonders that neurorehabilitation can do for an ABI patient in hospital. Neurorehabilitation can result in a speedy, efficient recovery with long-term benefits and a better quality of life”.
The judges commented: ‘We really liked the creative way Sacha made her points. She used her experiences to explain really simply how neurorehabilitation works and what the benefits are to the patient and family. ”
Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda Valley and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Acquired Brain Injury announced Sacha as the winner of the award on Monday 13th July. He said: “We are really struck by the fact that nearly every department of government needs to take into account the numbers of people they represent who are affected by brain injury. We need people, like Sacha, to share their stories to get our message across.”
Rachael Chamberlain, Business Development Director at Cygnet Health Care said: “Cygnet is delighted to be sponsoring the UKABIF Film Award. Neurorehabilitation has a key role in the patient care pathway following an ABI. We will use the film as part of our induction training programme for new staff as it explains the importance of neurorehabilitation so clearly and simply.”
Sacha’s film can be viewed here (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9oUXPj49SWo&feature=youtu.be)
You can also see UKABIF’s Chair, Dr Andrew Bateman, Cygnet’s Rachael Chamberlain and Chris Bryant presenting Sacha with the UKABIF film award here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTTTAkIZS58)
The film will be shared widely across social media to help explain simply what neurorehabilitation involves and why it works.
