Therapy

A groundbreaking neurorehabilitation centre which uses outdoor activities as a basis for its rehab has confirmed its long-awaited opening date.

Calvert Reconnections is the UK’s first intensive acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation centre which offers a unique approach to rehab for its residents.

Based on the outskirts of Keswick, in the Lake District, it takes advantage of its location by offering a programme of outdoor-based activities, all tailored around the needs of the individual.

Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions have meant the opening of Calvert Reconnections has been delayed on two occasions this year, but it has now been confirmed that the centre will finally open its doors in spring.

“We can’t wait to open in Spring 2021,” says centre director, Sean Day.

“2020 has been immensely difficult for everyone, but better times are on the horizon.

Neurophysiotherapists are adopting a ‘blended approach’ in delivering rehab to their patients, incorporating both in-person therapy and telerehab, as they plan for the future of the profession post-pandemic.

Telerehab has grown hugely in its use since March, with therapy and consultations being delivered remotely due to the restrictions around social distancing and the shielding of many vulnerable people.

However, while physio practices and clinics have now re-opened and have resumed seeing patients in-person, many have realised the benefits of combining face-to-face contact with telerehab and plan to continue to use both into the future.

Having been an early adopter of telerehab, with its introduction being made years before the pandemic hit, PhysioFunction plans to continue its use alongside clinic-based appointments.

The business has built on its existing telerehab provision to add online therapy groups and classes to its offering, as well as expanding the remote technology service, all of which can be combined with in-person therapy to increase a patient’s rehabilitation opportunities.

“The blended approach works really well for many clients, but particularly those who are more vulnerable,” says Claire Everett, clinical operations manager at PhysioFunction and a senior neurological physiotherapist.

Wiltshire Farm Foods has announced its first-ever range of Christmas meals, introducing a variety of festive favourites to its Softer Foods Collection that have been specially created for those living with swallowing difficulties.   

The range includes an energy dense Puréed Turkey with Red Cabbage, Sage and Cranberry Stuffing and Duchess Potatoes, with over 500 Kcal and 20g protein; Puréed Honey Glazed Pork with Apple Sauce, Green Beans and Sauté Potatoes (a meal which is both energy dense and gluten free) and a Puréed Festive Pudding with Vanilla Sauce; packed with balanced notes of festive spices, which is also gluten free.

As the country faces the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the management team at Richardson Care reflect on their experiences so far. Richardson Care has six specialist residential care homes – three for adults with acquired brain injury and three for adults with learning disabilities. Caring for up to 78 people, many of whom are vulnerable brings added responsibilities and pressures, as well as additional skills.

Our experience in supporting people who are rebuilding their lives after brain injury or living with learning disabilities means that we are problem solvers. We support people to overcome challenges every day. Never has this been more important and we’re proud of the way that our management team and staff have responded.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and severe long-term disability with limited treatment available. A research team led by Prof. Gong Chen at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China recently reported the first non-human primate study demonstrating successful in vivo neural regeneration from brain internal glial cells for stroke repair.

Ms. Long-Jiao Ge, the first author of the work and a PhD student in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "Current treatment of ischemic stroke mainly aims at restoring blood flow and neuroprotection, typically with a narrow time window of several hours.

A project has been launched to introduce smart assistant devices into residential facilities for brain injury patients to enhance their wellbeing and increase their communication with the outside world both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The Disabilities Trust is pioneering the ConnectAbility project, which makes use of technologies and digital means to help increase independence and widen opportunities for social interaction among patients.

Through raising money to buy smart assistant devices, such as the Amazon Alexa, the Trust believes this could help people to live independently and bridge the ‘digital literacy’ gap which have previously prevented many people, particularly those with cognitive impairments, from benefitting from technology.

Five brain injury professionals spanning dietetics, case management, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy share what they've learnt from to shift to virtual therapy. 

At the start of the pandemic, many statutory rehab services were redeployed, and some independent therapy teams closed or therapists moved back into frontline work within the NHS and community. A group of private therapists in the North West of England started keeping in touch on social media and in weekly group support sessions to share their fears and concerns, and identify the strengths that helped them survive in such challenging times.

Rehabilitation services for stroke and other neurological diseases have seen a slower recovery in outpatient clinics than those in inpatient settings as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report has found.

Outpatient services were largely stopped or significantly scaled back when the pandemic hit, the study said, and continue to take longer to recover post-lockdown, which could have long-term implications for patients into the future.

Decreases of around 36 per cent compared to 2019 were seen in the ability of outpatient units to interact with patients, with many appointments being delayed for between 3 and 6 months.

In an inpatient setting, the decrease was around 27 per cent at the peak COVID-19 period, although the recovery in rates of seeing patients came much quicker.

Having been an early adopter of telerehab, PhysioFunction was perhaps less daunted than most at the prospect of responding to the COVID-19 lockdown and ensuring their clients’ needs were met.

The specialist neuro physiotherapy practice has, for the past year, used video calls to enable its clients to receive one-to-one sessions in addition to those provided in person, with its staff supporting them to install and use the technology remotely.

It is also an early adopter of the MindMotion GO, a first-of-its-kind mobile neurorehabilitation therapy system which uses gaming to support the recovery of brain injury and neuro patients.

New research has found that intensive therapy is not necessarily best when it comes to treating the loss of language and communication in early recovery after a stroke.

Published in the International Journal of Stroke, the research found that unlike physical and motor skill rehabilitation, recovering lost language caused by a condition known as aphasia after stroke is a marathon, not a sprint. It also showed that early intervention is crucial.