Rehabilitation Services
Inpatient Neurological Rehabilitation Unit
INRU provides specialist assessment and intensive rehabilitation for people with disabilities resulting from neurological conditions.
About our unit
INRU is a specialist neurological rehabilitation unit, which provides specialist assessment and intensive rehabilitation for people with disabilities resulting from neurological conditions.
The majority of patients admitted have suffered head injuries, subarachnoid haemorrhages, stroke or other forms of brain injury. Patients with progressive neurological conditions are also seen.
We provide in-patient rehabilitation at the unit for patients with complex neurological conditions. Each patient is referred by a healthcare professional. The referral is reviewed ensuring that individual meets the referral criteria for the unit.
INRU has multi-disciplinary team led by a consultant in rehabilitation medicine. Patients that meet the needs for this service will have complex and/or profound neurological rehabilitation assessment and treatment requirements.
Who is the service for?
People over the age of 16 with the conditions described above. The unit accepts patients from across the West Midlands region, although patients predominantly come from Birmingham and the Black Country.
Our aims
There are three main aims of a Specialist Rehabilitation service such as INRU:
- Restoration of function for those with a sudden onset condition to improve independence in daily activities
- Disability management for those who have progressive or stable conditions where goals may focus on maintaining existing function
- Neuro-palliative care focussing on symptom management and the maintenance of a quality of life during a profound disability or later stages of a progressive condition.
(British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2009)
Referral and admission
A referral to the service can be by any healthcare professional on behalf of the patient providing they have: a registered GP and an NHS number. Please email referrals.specialistrehabilitation@nhs.net for a referral form.
All referrals are considered on an individual basis following a completed referral form being received so please include as much relevant information as possible. Once patients have been referred to the service, our clinical team will assess suitability for inpatient rehabilitation prior to admission and any further information required will be sought from the referrer. On admission, a key worker will be allocated to act as a link between patient, carer and the family unit.
Rehabilitation programmes
On admission each patient is assessed by the multidisciplinary team over an approximately 2 week period, and then takes part in setting meaningful rehabilitation goals alongside their family relevant to their needs. A rehabilitation plan is then drawn up to evaluate progress towards these goals and to plan for future care needs.
Patients are admitted for a time limited period, but arrangements will be made for ongoing rehabilitation in the community where appropriate as rehabilitation does not end when the patient leaves the hospital. Discharge planning starts prior to admission and continues throughout patient’s inpatient stay to help ensure a smooth transition back into the community setting.
Outpatient follow up will be arranged as appropriate once patients leave the ward in one of the specialist outpatient clinics offered within the Trust e.g. Brain injury specialist clinic, spasticity clinic, MS clinic.
The team
Specialist consultants in neuro rehabilitation medicine lead a team that includes:
- Nursing staff
- Physiotherapists
- Occupational therapists
- Speech and Language therapists
- Dietitians
- Clinical neuro psychologist
- Counsellor
- Rehabilitation assistants
- Information/advice officers
- Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
- Administration
If appropriate there will also be involvement from other specialist services from within the directorate and the wider area such as posture mobility, wheelchair services and access to communication and technology services.
We also work closely with local acute hospital services as required for additional specialist support including, but not limited to, neurology and neurosurgery.
Facilities
The Unit consists of 24 specialist neuro rehabilitation beds (Ward 9) and 8 stroke rehabilitation beds (Ward 8).
There are facilities for individual and group therapy including a physiotherapy gym, an assessment kitchen and well-equipped therapy rooms.
There is a quiet room for the use of patients and carers.
Visiting times
To encourage excellent nutrition and hydration we offer protected meal times for our patients, so we therefore request that visiting times are between 11am - 8pm but due to protected mealtimes avoid 12-1pm and 5-6pm to avoid lunch and tea time.