Introduction
The Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team provides aspecialist home based rehabilitation service
for patients who are discharged from hospital following a stroke or who remain at home after a stroke. We provide Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Nursing and Dietetic services. We liaise closely with hospital wards, Social Services, Stroke Consultants, outpatient Therapy Services, GP practices and the Stroke Association.
Service Aims
- To help a person and their family or carers to adapt to living at home again following a stroke
- To improve mobility, cognition, communication, nutrition and health
- To become more independent and confident in carrying out everyday tasks at home and in the community
- To prevent further stroke episodes.
The service was launched on 1st September 2009.
Hours of Operation
The service operates 7 days a week, including bank holidays and weekends. We usually visit between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm.
Referrals
We accept referrals from health care professionals for newly diagnosed stroke patients.
Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team Pathway
We have daily contact with hospital stroke services to identify patients close to discharge.
We visit patients at home within two days of discharge from hospital or within two days of a community referral to establish which individual services are required.
Patient led treatment programmes are tailored to individual needs, ranging from a few sessions to several visits per week.
The timing and frequency of visits is agreed between the patient and the team.
Progress is reviewed at the end of twelve weeks to determine how the person’s ongoing needs can best be met.
Patients may be referred on to outpatient therapy and dietetics services, or to community nursing services.
The team will signpost patients and families towards the Stroke Association, Age UK, Social Services, a wide range of voluntary agencies, to ensure that all appropriate support is accessed.
Community Stroke Team Win National Award
City Hospitals Sunderland’s Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team has been awarded the Most Improved Stroke Service by the Stroke Association.
Fiona Stewart, Clinical Coordinator and Speech & Language Therapist for City Hospitals Sunderland collected the award for Most Improved Stroke Service at the London awards ceremony.
Judges commended the Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team for delivering outstanding post-hospital services, enabling stroke survivors to make a better recovery in the long-term.
The service, which was launched in September 2009, was commissioned by Sunderland Teaching PCT and involved stroke survivors and carers in both the development of the service standards and the procurement process. Since then, the multi-disciplinary Community Stroke Rehabilitation Team has worked tirelessly to establish the service and reduce the length of stay for stroke inpatients.
The team provides both early supported discharge and longer term community based multidisciplinary rehabilitation. The service operates seven days a week, visiting patients in hospital to introduce the team and identify rehabilitation, nursing and dietetic needs, and then visiting people at home within two days of leaving hospital. The team works closely with outpatient therapy services and The Stroke Association to ensure the person’s needs continue to be met following discharge from the service.
Fiona says: “I am delighted that the team has been recognised by The Stroke Association for our efforts in supporting stroke survivors and their families in the community. Every member of the team believes passionately in the importance of Stroke Rehabilitation following the often life changing event of a stroke and we will continue to expand and improve the service in the future. We are currently developing surveys of stakeholders and families/carers in order to gain feedback on how we can further support the service.”
Ken Bremner, Chief Executive of City Hospitals Sunderland, says: “This is good news for patients and their families, and for the continued development of stroke services in Sunderland. A lot of people have worked extremely hard to ensure that this service has been commissioned and established - this award is for them and for the people of Sunderland.”
Watch the team receive their award online
About The Stroke Association
The Stroke Association is the only UK charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages. The charity funds research into prevention, treatment, better methods of rehabilitation and helps stroke patients and their families directly through its Life After Stroke Services, information service, welfare grants, publications and leaflets. The Stroke Association also campaigns, educates and informs to increase knowledge of stroke at all levels of society acting as a voice for everyone affected by stroke.
The Stroke Helpline provides information on stroke to the general public and is open between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 0303 30 33 100.
More information on The Stroke Association can be found at www.stroke.org.uk.
About stroke
A stroke is a brain attack, which causes brain damage.
A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is disrupted. Most strokes occur when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to the brain. Some strokes are caused by bleeding in or around the brain from a burst blood vessel. When the blood supply is disrupted, parts of the brain become damaged or destroyed. Some strokes are fatal whist others can cause permanent or temporary disabilities such as paralysis to one side of the body and loss of the ability to speak, read or write. Recovery may be slow and can vary from person to person.
Strokes can be prevented through lifestyle factors such as a healthy diet - particularly reducing salt intake, drinking alcohol only in moderation, not smoking and taking regular exercise.
A stroke can be diagnosed by using FAST – Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech problems, Time to call 999. Stroke is a medical emergency. If any of these symptoms are present, call an ambulance straight away.
Stroke statistics
- Each year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke, that’s one person every five minutes
- Stroke is the third biggest killer and the leading cause of severe disability
- Of all people who suffer from a stroke, about a third are likely to die within the first 10 days, about a third are likely to make a recovery within one month and about a third are likely to be left disabled and needing rehabilitation
- At least 450,000 people are severely disabled as a result of stroke in England
- A stroke can happen to any one at any time. Around a quarter of strokes happen to those aged under 65, with around 1000 happening to those under 30