Professor Anba Soopramanien MD PhD FRCP

Professor Soopramanien is a specialist in spinal cord injuries and Rehabilitation Medicine as well as associated problems such as the paralysed bladder and bowels, sexual function and fertility. Anba is a Commissioner Lancet Neurology Commission on Neurorehabilitation.

Born in Mauritius, he graduated as a medical doctor in France, trained and worked in the UK before becoming Head of Rehabilitation Services for the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) in Pakistan (Peshawar) during the Afghan war. His further assignment was with IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross) in Bucharest (Romania) after the revolution.

Back in the UK, he worked in Spinal Injuries and Rehabilitation Medicine at the London Spinal Injuries Unit (Stanmore) before becoming a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine in Lincoln. After two years he was appointed as Consultant in Spinal Injuries and Rehabilitation at the Spinal Centre, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, until he retired.

He then became Consultant and later Medical Director at the Glenside Hospital for Neurorehabilitation in Salisbury, which treated a wide range of patients from spinal cord injury to all aspects of acquired brain injury and Stroke. He became Group Medical Director of Renovo care www.renovo.co.uk for one year in 2020.

He has specialised in remote care, carried out research activities and published on the topic. He is a member of the SIG (Special Interest Group) of WFNR (World Federation of Neurorehabilitation) in Telerehabilitation. He consults remotely on all aspects of neurorehabilitation and spinal cord injury.

He works internationally and set up Neuram Foundation www.Neuram.org

The Neuram Foundation charity has organised educational programmes in neurological rehabilitation (physiotherapy, occupational therapy and management of spasticity), an international conference on Spinal Cord Injury in Mauritius in 2018. They have organised virtual educational meetings and offers support to individuals with Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury or Spinal Cord Injury. They collect and distribute wheelchairs and cushions to people living with a disability. Recently they set up a continence unit at the major Dr Jeetoo hospital on the island.

He is also actively involved in education and research through his affiliation with Bournemouth University where he is a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

Professor Soopramanien has also welcomed opportunities to become involved in international activities and is the past Chair for the Affiliated Societies and Networks (ASN) of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCOS). He recently was appointed a commissioner within the Lancet Commission on Neurorehabilitation that works closely with WHO and Rehabilitation 2030 and other UN agencies.