History

THE EARLY DAYS

The mid to late 1970s brought about dramatic advances in neurosurgical techniques, resulting in much greater numbers of traumatically head injured people surviving the original trauma. Sadly for this fairly new group of severely disabled persons, resources in therapeutic health disciplines did not keep pace with this improvement, and many of them were accommodated in totally unsuitable accommodation e.g. elderly care or psychiatric wards. Families were, in the main, unprepared for the problems posed by their injured parties.

It is unsurprising that, around the world, groups of people, including relatives, and some head injured people themselves, were meeting together to plan ways in which families and individuals could be supported. Such a group in Wakefield was doing the same, under the guidance of a number of professional staff from Pinderfields Hospital.

Following two public meetings, attended by many family members, a Steering Group was formed with the purpose of establishing a Wakefield based Head Injury Support Group. Early meetings were held in the Occupational Therapy Department at the hospital, and in April 1980 the first issue of the Group’s Newsletter was produced.

At a historic Group meeting on 14 May 1980, both the Group and the Newsletter were named. A competition and secret ballot were held that evening and the favourite name for the Group was seemingly veering towards Chance, when a lady interjected “Why not Second Chance, because that’s what my daughter got”. The Newsletter title needed much less deliberation, and its next issue proudly proclaimed a “So it’s a great big welcome to SECOND CHANCE from BRAINWAVES”. The Group was well under way.

Gaining momentum at a similar rate was development of the national organisation Headway the National Head Injuries Association, now Headway – the brain association. Set up by a group of five people centred on Nottingham, Mr David Price (Consultant Neurosurgeon at Pinderfields) was quickly recruited to be a Trustee of Headway, and he was subsequently appointed Chairman of Trustees.

As the Group developed, expansion of the structure followed with the appointment, in February 1982, of Mr David Price (Consultant Neurosurgeon at Pinderfields) as President.

At the Anniversary Meeting on 25 March 1980, Second Chance’s first Constitution was adopted. The meeting also voted for the Group’s first elected Committee. This comprised:

Ann Bailey
Melvyn Ince
June Moore
Les Pallett
Kevin Rothery
David Turner