Group says brain injury clinic needed on P.E.I.

The Brain Injury Association of Prince Edward Island is working to set up its own rehabilitation team.

The legislature passed a resolution last year promising to look into the idea.

So far, nothing has materialized, so the brain injury association is appealing straight to health care professionals to get the team together.

As a member of P.E.I.'s brain injury association and a brain injury survivor, Kenneth Murnaghan knows the road to recovery is long.

"It's not like a broken arm. You put it in a cast and six months it's better.  Basically, you know, brain injuries last a life time," said Murnaghan.

The association wants to set up the Island's first brain injury rehab team.

It would be a community-based service to help with the long-term psychological and emotional effects of a brain injury.

"There's just so much down the road after a brain injury that you really need a year out from the incident to absorb what's happened to you and develop a plan for the future," said neuropsychologist Christine Beck. "So this outpatient team, or this ABI team might be very helpful for guiding people, so they don't stumble so much."

Later this month, P.E.I. will host a national conference on brain injury treatment.  As part of that event, researchers will ask survivors from across Canada how well the services in their communities meet their needs.

Many provinces have drop-in centres for brain injury survivors.

The national association has said P.E.I. could use one, as well as more trained specialists.

"You know, if there's a national conference coming to town, maybe we need to start doing something like the rest of Canada," said Murnaghan.

Murnaghan hopes the conference helps get an Island rehab team going.