Spinal Injuries Association Gunpowder Ball 2022 – ‘A Gathering with a Goal’

This year the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) once again hosted their Gunpowder Ball at the Honourable Artillery Company in London.

I was beyond excited to attend this year as last year I had to stay home nursing a horrible cold, constantly refreshing twitter to watch the fun voyeuristically. Not this year though. This year my sparkly shoes and I were there in person and we had a wonderful time.

As an event the Gunpowder Ball is faultless; a beautiful venue, lovely food and a captivating fireworks display. However despite all that, what stayed with me the most was the mid-dinner video from SIA Member Sally Jones.

This year’s Gunpowder Ball was shining a light on the impact pressure sores have on members of the SCI community. To date Sally has had 23 pressure ulcers, one of which nearly resulted in amputation. Sally’s video eloquently described the impact repeated pressure sores were having on her day to day life; the constant daily checking; the overhanging fear that a pressure sore is round the corner; the hours, days and weeks spent on bedrest. It’s unimaginable – as is the cost to the NHS – £3.8 million per day according to a 2018 NHS Improvement report. The SIA’s goal to train and educate enough healthcare professionals on spinal cord injury and skin care to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions is therefore a goal which could potentially have a much wider-reaching impact.

On 17 November we saw continued focus on pressure sores with  ‘STOP the Pressure’ Day and in support spinal injury paralegal Molly Tonks published a very compelling blog to raise further awareness entitled “Stop the Pressure Day 2022 #DOONTSITONIT”. However the seriousness of this topics warrants continued focus beyond just one day and BBK will continue to support the SIA in raising awareness on this incredibly important topic in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the SIA who made the Gunpowder Ball really go off with a bang.