Neurological Rehabilitation
About the program:
The Neurological Rehabilitation Program is designed to meet the needs of the people with disabilities resulting from a neurological illness or injury. The team supports an interdisciplinary approach to rehabilitation, involving the patient, their family, team members and community support agencies in order to facilitate recovery in functional movement and control to an optimal level in a safe environment
Who is the program for?
This Program is suitable for persons who have established neurological rehabilitation conditions including stroke, spinal cord dysfunction, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury.
Program content:
The Program seeks to facilitate recovery to the optimal level of independence and assessments are undertaken to determine current movement, control and potential. An individual rehabilitation plan will be designed with the participation of you and your family. Your family can also arrange to attend your therapy sessions so they may learn how to assist you.
A team of therapists will complete assessments to formulate an individualised treatment plan to work towards these included:
- Rehabilitation Physician
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech Pathologist
- Dietitian
- Rehabilitation Nurses
- Physiotherapist
Medical services
Your rehabilitation program is directed by a Rehabilitation Physician. He/she has the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating your medical and rehabilitation care. The Rehabilitation Specialist will liaise with your Neurologist or Neuro Surgeon, General Practitioner and other specialists to ensure proper continuity of medical care.
Physiotherapy
The physiotherapist will assess and treat the following:
- Bed mobility
- Moving from lying to sitting to standing
- Balance
- Walking and stair ability
- Reaching, grasping and manipulating objects
- Fitness/endurance
- Strength
- Prescription of mobility aids
- Home program
Occupational therapy
The Occupational Therapist also plays a vital role in helping the patient maximise functional independence in all aspects of their daily life. All patients are reviewed by the Occupational Therapist and the following areas are assessed and retraining provided to help you return to your previous lifestyle:
- Self-care
- Home management skills
- Home visit – may be conducted to assess the safety of your home environment.
- Work related skills
- Leisure skills
- Driving education
- Prescription of aids to assist maintain your independence
- Reaching, grasping and manipulating objects
- Cognitive and perceptual skills retraining
Speech pathology
If you have suffered communication, language or swallowing difficulties, a Speech Pathologist will be available to treat you. The Speech Pathologist treatment will focus around;
- Establishing reliable means of communication
- Speech clarity
- Cognitive and memory training
- Reading and writing
- Safe swallowing techniques and food modification
Dietitian
A Dietitian may review you to see if your nutritional needs are being met. They can assist in diet modification, help with weight loss or control and help with optimising functional activity.
Social Worker
A Social Worker meets patients and families, upon referral, to complete an assessment. They can advise on family, social or financial impacts and how to obtain assistance if necessary. The patient and family may be experiencing emotional problems as a result of their condition; the Social Worker is skilled in counselling and can assist in this area.
Nursing staff
Your nurses will encourage and assist you to achieve your optimal level of independence. They provide 24 hour care and supervision and will help you with your daily ward activities. Your care will be directed at preventing disability, maintaining your present ability and restoring your lost ability.
Your nurses continually liaise with your therapists to ensure continuity of your rehabilitation care and are always available to answer questions about your rehabilitation program, your medical care or other health concerns.
On discharge if you require further rehabilitation treatment you may be referred to a day rehabilitation program.
When is it held:
Group and individual therapy sessions involving both the Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapists will be available Monday – Friday. Additional assessments and other therapies are provided on an individual basis. Outside of structured therapy, patients will be provided with supervised exercises and Activities of Daily Living activities directed by the rehabilitation team. Patients will also be encouraged with self-initiated exercises where appropriate.
Speak OUT!
What is Speak OUT! and LOUD Crowd?
SPEAK OUT! is a therapy program for individuals with Parkinson ’s disease or Parkinsonism to help regain and maintain effective communication. The program places emphasis on speaking with INTENT and converting speech from an automatic function to an intentional act.
What should I expect?
Following an initial assessment and education session, the Speak OUT! program is completed in 12 sessions over 4 weeks. You will work through a series of speech, voice and cognitive exercises and complete daily homework.
On completion of individual sessions, you are invited to attend the LOUD Crowd! This is a weekly group therapy program to maintain the skills acquired during SPEAK OUT!.
The SPEAK OUT! and LOUD Crowd therapy regimens were developed at the Parkinson Voice Project. You can visit their website at www.ParkinsonVoiceProject.org.
Where can I receive services?
The Speak OUT! and LOUD Crowd programs are available in person at The Southport Private Hospital. Please call Speech Pathology to learn more or book a session (Phone 5671 8346).
What costs are associated with these services?
Please speak to your insurance provider to determine any co-payment or cost associated with these services.
