The Institut Guttmann has hosted the presentation of the Manual of Good Practices of Humanisation in Spinal Cord Injury, a document that establishes for the first time the strategic lines and good practices necessary to achieve humanised spinal cord injury units (SCIUs). The initiative is included in HUMANIZALE, a project promoted by Hollister and EVEN - Expert Group on Neurogenic Bladder, formed by medical rehabilitation and nursing professionals from the Institut Guttmann and other ULMs. It also counts with the participation of the HUCI Project, a pioneering movement in the humanisation of care in Spain and Latin America. 

The manual defines 9 strategic lines and specifies 145 universal good practices - categorised as basic, advanced and desirable - to humanise spinal cord injury. A group of professionals from the Institut Guttmann, including medical rehabilitation professionals, nurses, auxiliary nursing care technicians, psychologists and physiotherapists, among others, participated in its preparation. “The good practices contained in this manual are the result of more than a year's work by the members of EVEN. We now make them available to all healthcare agents so that any spinal cord injury unit can learn about them and implement them,” explains Joan Vidal, rehabilitation doctor at the Institut Guttmann and member of EVEN. 

The manual is available for consultation and download on the EVEN website. The 9 lines defined are: Interprofessional team; Patient and family wellbeing; Support and integration of the family in the care team; Communication; Care of the professional; Post-ICU syndrome and reception in the unit; Discharge planning and continuity of care; End-of-life care and Humanised spaces. 

Photographic exhibition 'More human than ever' 

The presentation was followed by the inauguration of the photographic exhibition More human than ever. Beyond Spinal Cord Injury, a tribute that shows people in their role as patients, medical professionals or nurses at the Institut Guttmann. 

“This exhibition goes beyond spinal cord injury, beyond physical recovery and clinical care, it reflects the people who are there after the role of healthcare professionals or patients. At Hollister we wanted to find the most human way to present the manual, which is a milestone both at a scientific and health level and is now available to all hospitals, professionals and health institutions”, says María José Villa, Hollister's Marketing Director.