Spinal funds tackles injuries

Spinal funds tackles injuries

A BENEFIT fund set up 20 years ago to help people with spinal injuries has made the move into workplace injury prevention.

But the move, while potentially helping to reduce the number of spinal injuries in the workplace, is costing the fund dearly and put it into a loss-making position last year.

Paraplegic Benefit Fund Australia, formed by renowned Western Australian spinal surgeon Sir George Bedbrook in 1984, joined with the Industrial Foundation for Accident Prevention 18 months ago to spread the message about workplace safety.

The move fits with the fund’s mission as a charity focused on reducing the incidence and impact of spinal cord injury.

PBF has traditionally targeted individuals, paying out $100,000 within the first few weeks of their accident if it results in severe spinal injury. It also provides assistance to help them overcome the emotional trauma that comes with the injury.

There were 152 spinal injuries in WA last year. Of those, 36 ended with the person suffering some permanent paralysis.

PBF’s workplace program involves sending a guest speaker, who has suffered a spinal injury, to a workplace to talk about how their spinal injury affected them and showing a video.

PBF State manager Jon Morris said the reaction to the workplace talks was interesting.

"The guys go in thinking it’s going to be another ‘safety lecture’ but when they see the guest speaker and start to hear the message, they change," he said.

"The questions afterwards are quite interesting. It ranges from technical matters about the accident to ‘can you still have sex?’"

It costs companies $400 for the presentation or $1,000 for a day. The day rate usually kicks in if the business is outside the metropolitan area.

Additionally, companies can have their employees covered by PBF for about $10 a year. That rate kicks in if they have more than 200 employees. The normal rate for individuals is $22 a year and $44 for families.

Companies such as Brambles, Haliburton, Alcoa and Mitchell’s Transport have taken that on.

Besides its workplace program and help for individuals, PBF also conducts a water safety program and road awareness program aimed at students.

While the workplace visits are fee for service, when coupled with the other education programs the PBF carries out, they forced the fund into a loss.

Cuts in government funding are claimed to be partly responsible for this.

Mr Morris said the fund normally returned a modest surplus on membership fees. Some of that was reinvested and the rest used for gifts.

The reinvestment is handled by the fund’s chairman David Bedbrook – son of Sir George – and its executive chairman Grant White, based on advice from Gannon, Growden and Schonell.

However, the cost of bringing the injury prevention program online, along with the cost of the other programs, outweighed membership fee returns this year.

Along with its gift-giving program, the fund has also taken on a more partnership-based approach with its corporate members.