Sunderland and Gateshead Community Acquired Brain Injury Service (CABIS) Patient Information Leaflet

Transcription

1 Sunderland and Gateshead Community Acquired Brain Injury Service (CABIS) Patient Information Leaflet Shining a light on the future

2 Sunderland and Gateshead Community Acquired Brain Injury Service [CABIS] CABIS offer a range of rehabilitation services for people who experience symptoms or difficulties in their day to day life following an acquired brain injury. Injuries may have been caused by trauma to the head or brain (for example in a road traffic accident or assault), an infection (for example encephalitis or meningitis) or when the supply of oxygen to the brain is reduced (for example due to a heart attack). We also see people who have an acquired brain injury due to the toxic effects of substances (including alcohol and drugs). We provide a service for residents of Sunderland and Gateshead who are 16 years and above. How do I access the service? You can refer yourself or be referred by a family member, your doctor, a therapist or other agencies. Contact us by telephone, , or in writing, using the details below: Sunderland and Gateshead Community Acquired Brain Injury Service (CABIS) Monkwearmouth Hospital Newcastle Road Sunderland SR5 1NB Telephone: Fax: cabis.team@ntw.nhs.uk Please note that information sent to the Trust via is sent at your own risk. This leaflet contains the following information about the service and what to expect. The Service The Team About assessments How to get to Sunderland CABIS office How to get to Gateshead CABIS office How to give comments, compliment or complaints If you have any questions or comments about the services we offer, please ask a member of the CABIS team or contact us on

3 The Team The following personnel work in the team. All or just one of them may work with you. We also work with many other services in order to help you and your family with your recovery and rehabilitation. Occupational Therapists Focus on helping to manage day to day activities more independently. This can be with personal care routines like getting washed and dressed, or doing things in the community, such as using public transport, going shopping and leisure activities. Help can involve advice and guidance for the individual and their family or staff. Returning to work or finding a new job is important for many people. This includes paid work, volunteering and education. If there are barriers preventing a return to work, the occupational therapist can assist with this, alongside other organisations and employers. Technical Instructors Can assist you with rehabilitation activities and help you practice things in your daily life that you want to work on for example: Getting to the gym or going for a run in the park. Learning new ways to do activities such as washing, dressing and eating. The rehabilitation plans are designed by you and the team. Specialist Nurse Has significant experience around the management of early and ongoing symptoms of an acquired brain injury. Your health care needs can be discussed with the Nurse who can treat you directly or put you in contact with relevant services if you need additional treatment. Neuropsychologists Work with the person with an acquired brain injury and their families. They can assist you with things such as: Adapting to changes caused by the injury. Understanding and dealing with the impact of an acquired brain injury on your emotions and your thinking. Helping you devise a rehabilitation programme to achieve your goals. If members of your family are struggling with the effects of the injury or circumstances around this, they also have access to neuropsychology for advice and treatment. Headway Coordinators Headway is a national brain injury association. Headway coordinators are part of the CABIS Team and offer patients, family members and carers support or information in a number of areas such as: Accessing support groups Help your understanding of some of the aspects of having an acquired brain injury Helping you to access other services you may not be aware of Welfare benefits Work and volunteering 3

4 Speech and Language Therapist Speech and language therapists can assess, treat and help you work through difficulties with swallowing and communication. We have dedicated time from a speech and language therapist from the local hospital to ensure that you can access this key service and work with the team to devise a rehabilitation programme. Your initial assessment The first appointment is usually about getting to know you and discussing how we can help you. A family member or close friend is welcome to attend if you feel this would help us understand more about how the injury is affecting you (and them). This will be at a venue that is suitable to your needs and those of your family. Suitable venues could include your own home, our offices in Monkwearmouth Hospital or Gateshead Health Centre, a GP Practice, a hospital ward, at the probation service or at a suitable community venue. This first meeting can last up to one hour (sometimes more if this is needed), but if this is difficult we can always reduce the time of the appointment. There may be questions that you wish to ask, therefore we advise you to write them down before the appointment and we will do our best to answer them. Bring reading glasses/hearing aids if you need to use them. Following your initial assessment you may be offered other types of assessment or screening. These will help us to identify the type of support and rehabilitation you will need and how long this is likely to take. Typical areas assessed: Cognition (thinking skills including memory, attention, reasoning). These involve pen and paper tests and practical tasks to help us understand the difficulties caused by the brain injury. Day to day function (what you can and can t do at present) including barriers to work or meaningful activity. Changes you have noticed and what your priorities are for treatment. Your general health and how to improve upon this. Mood assessments to help us understand how you are feeling and what difficulties you are experiencing. You may also be offered referral to other departments, services or organisations depending upon your needs. The team members involved will help make sure you are accessing the correct services. 4

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7 What if I have a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint about the service? If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can: Talk to a member of the CABIS staff involved in your rehabilitation and request a Feedback Form. Complete the form on the NTW Trust website at (click on the contact us tab ). Telephone the Complaints Department Tel: You can also us on complaints@ntw.nhs.uk (please note that information sent to the Trust via is sent at your own risk). We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention. Points of You - available from staff. Friends and Family Test - available from staff or online at What some people have told us about our service Your help, support and hard work has been invaluable. Thanks for everything. I have really enjoyed the time I ve spent with the team. Many thanks for all your help support and encouragement during this difficult time, which I am sure, has made my recovery quicker. Thanks for all your help and support over the past 2 years. 7

8 Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: Published by the Patient Information Centre 2016 Copyright, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Ref, PIC/765/0316 March 2016 V1 Tel: Review date 2019 Follow 8