Could rehabilitation pilot reshape stroke care?

A pioneering trial has significantly increased rehabilitation opportunities for stroke survivors immediately following a stroke, paving the way for better recovery outcomes.

Facilitated by funding from the EPSRC’s (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) IAA (Impact Accelerator Account), the University of Strathclyde partnered with NHS Lanarkshire to launch the Technology-Enriched Stroke Rehabilitation Hub at the University Hospital in Wishaw.

Supported by power-assisted exercise specialists Innerva, the hub ensures patients meet new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Currently, NHS stroke patients receive – on average – just 34 minutes of combined rehabilitation therapy per day – 14 minutes of physiotherapy, 13 minutes of occupational therapy and seven minutes of speech and language therapy. This falls far short of the new NICE guidelines, which recommend three hours of daily therapy, five days a week.

The trial at the rehabilitation hub has almost tripled the daily rehabilitation time for patients, adding an average of 53 minutes of additional therapy, bringing the daily total to 87 minutes.

Dr Gillian Sweeney, an occupational therapist with NHS Lanarkshire and advanced practitioner for stroke rehabilitation, set up the hub and led the development of the trial.

She said: “The results are extremely encouraging. Early findings show that the hub’s group sessions are both safe and effective and patients are receiving substantially more therapy.”