Why be a CILEx Practitioner?

Vicky Purtill, CILEx Regulation

Two years ago my horse-mad teenage daughter fell off her horse. Even without my basic first aid knowledge, I could see that two paracetamol and a bandage weren’t going to be enough to make her better and so I found myself in unfamiliar territory, worried and on my way to the hospital.

Following two hours in Accident and Emergency, after triage and x-rays, the diagnosis was a complete break to her right arm. So now I’m feeling more confident – broken bone equals 6 weeks in plaster right?

Wrong, the A&E duty doctor said it was the wrong type of break and sent us home with an inch wide neoprene sling and a leaflet which didn’t help. I have to say that at this point I was even more concerned, I tried Google but that just led me to read through worst case scenarios.  I tried to recall situations where I may have come across anyone who had broken a bone (other than a toe) who hadn’t had a cast and came up with nothing. So I rang the hospital and eventually got to speak to the orthopaedic surgeon (bone specialist). He looked at the x-rays, talked me through why there would be no cast in this case and promised to see her the following week. Suddenly I felt reassured, still worried about the situation, but not about the treatment – why? Because I had spoken to a specialist.

All very interesting you think, but what has this got to do with CILEx Practitioners? Well, like me, consumers of legal services often find themselves facing a new and possibly daunting situation, they know they have a problem that they can’t solve themselves and they are probably already distressed because they may be getting divorced, suing their neighbour or moving house.

Experience of these situations is rare for most of us, but we know people, family and friends (and through social media these days) who’ve been in similar situations. So we think we know what to expect. But each case is different and how do you know that the advice you’re getting is the right advice for you? Like me, knowing that you’re speaking to a specialist, trained for your particular problem gives comfort, leaving you to get on and deal with the situation that has led you to the specialist help in the first place.

As for my daughter… Fully recovered and back on her horse!

Want to become a specialist CILEx Practitioner? Click here.

Find a CILEx Practitioner in your area, click here.

Vicky Purtill is the Director of Authorisation & Supervision at CILEx Regulation. She is responsible for overseeing the individual and entity authorisation and supervision arrangements for CILEx members, CILEx Practitioners and CILEx Authorised Entities as well as maintaining and developing Education standards and policy.