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The Stroke Rehabilitation Unit

Date issued: February 2023

Review date: February 2025

Ref: C-521/SB/Physio/The Stroke Rehabilitation Unit

PDF:  The stroke unit final February 2023.pdf [pdf] 348KB

The Stroke Rehabilitation Unit (SRU)

Is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation environment. It aims to provide inpatient rehabilitation to patients who no longer need to be in an acute hospital but are not yet ready to be discharged from hospital.

Following a Stroke, some people can return straight home from hospital supported by a package of care and ongoing therapy in the community. Others have a higher level of care needs that require a longer stay in a community-based care setting, such a residential or nursing home. This is called the Discharge to Assess (DTA) pathway supported by the Social Work Team.

Our purpose at SRU

To support the stroke survivor at the start of their stroke rehabilitation journey. By providing therapy, education and support in re-learning skills, adapting home or environments and signposting to community services.

Admission to the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit is one small part of a stroke survivors’ recovery.

Length of stay

Most patients spend between two and six weeks on the SRU. An estimated date of discharge (EDD) will be set within the first week following assessments. Where possible we aim to keep this the same, however there are times when the EDD is either brought forward or extended. This could be due to a person not being able to participate in therapy, requiring a slow stream rehabilitation approach or requiring extra time to achieve a goal if it is felt appropriate.

What is slow stream?

Patients who are slow to recover and cannot cope with the intensity of an SRU programme, can sometimes make progress some months down the line. To accommodate this, SRU can allow patients to have a more ‘slow stream’ approach in the community. Assessments can take place a few months after leaving the unit to see if patients are more able to engage with the intensity of rehabilitation provided on the SRU.

Family/next of kin

When a person arrives on the SRU, assessments are carried out by the MDT. It is helpful to have input from the family/next of kin to provide an understanding of the previous level of independence and what their wishes and long-term goals may be, especially if a person is not able to communicate this themselves due to the stroke.

Reaching goals

We aim to set goals for patients in the first five working days. A progress meeting usually follows a week later, and family are invited to attend. This is an opportunity to review a person’s goals and to ask any questions to the team. There will usually be a Discharge Planning Meeting prior to discharge where the family/Next of Kin are usually invited to attend. During this meeting plans will be put in place to facilitate a safe and supported discharge from hospital, whether that is to your own home or to a DTA placement.

Following discharge from the SRU referrals for ongoing therapy can be made if the person is able to engage in therapy and they meet the criteria of the community therapy teams.

The Early Supported Discharge Team (ESD)

A community-based team of stroke specialist Nurses, Physios, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists who can continue with rehabilitation in both the patients home and care home settings for a period of up to six weeks.

How to contact us?

Family/next of kin are invited to attend progress meetings and discharge planning meetings to be kept informed. You can contact us on 01752 435870 or email: 

plh-tr.wemburyward@nhs.net if you need to get in touch with a member of staff specifically.

You can also request your treating nurse or therapist to provide you with the information you are seeking, and if they feel the need to escalate this to another member of team or the doctors, they will do so.

Medical Staff can usually be spoken with during the ward rounds on Tuesday afternoons. You will have to wait till the doctor reaches the bedside of your friend or relative, usually between 2pm and 4pm. If you prefer to speak to the medical staff on the phone, do mention this to the ward clark, who will contact the doctor to make this happen

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