Therapists trained as stroke coordinators to help patients in hospital

Therapists and nurses are helping stroke patients at Heatherwood and Wexham Park hospitals to get the best care as quickly as possible after being trained as dedicated stroke coordinators.

Therapists from speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy are working alongside three new nurses to provide 24/7 support to patients who present at hospital having suffered a stroke, staying with them from the moment they attend A&E and ensuring they are assessed in a timely manner, a bed is secured on the acute stroke unit and therapy is started as soon as possible.

Rachel Purchase, a speech and language therapist who has been recruited as a stroke coordinator, says: “Having therapists and new nurses take on this role means that stroke nurses can stay on the wards and focus on patient care while we make sure they get to where they need to be much more efficiently.

L-R: Maricel Abiad, Rose Almeida, Rachel Purchase, Helen George, Annmarie Malloy, Sandra Marariromba

“The coordinator role also allows patients to be seen more promptly by therapists so that their strengths and weaknesses are assessed and therapy starts there and then. The role is particularly important during evenings and weekends when patients are not normally seen by a therapist”.

It is believed that Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the first in the country to employ therapists as stroke coordinators, who have now been in place for just over a year. Previously, the role was carried out by nurses on the wards, in addition to their normal duties. By having the dedicated coordinators, patients are now benefiting from:

• timely assessments and brain scans in A&E
• prompt and direct admission to the specialist acute stroke unit
• access to specialist therapy assessments and treatment during evenings and weekends
• existing nurses spending more time on the wards attending to patients
• stroke coordinators available 24 hours a day, seven days a week

National NICE guidelines ensure that the care of patients who have suffered a stroke is continuously improved and the coordinators at Heatherwood and Wexham Park hospitals are leading the way in ensuring that this happens.