For Health Professionals

Rehabilitation services

Case coordination

All SHIU case coordinators (CC) are allied health professionals with extensive experience in rehabilitation. A comprehensive case coordination approach provides proactive, appropriate, flexible and coordinated support with patients and their families / support networks. This is achieved by assessing, facilitating, planning and, advocating for health needs, with regular monitoring and program review, on an individual basis. The CC works closely with the person with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and their family / support network to identify needs and goals. A rehabilitation plan is then developed and implemented. Regular contact enables the plan to be altered as needs change over time.

 

Aboriginal health liaison officer

SHIU Aboriginal health liaison officers (AHLOs) provide a community outreach, education and consultancy services to public, private, and non-government organisations regarding culturally safe care following acquired brain injury (ABI) for Aboriginal people. The AHLO role includes:

• Education to staff to assist with improving engagement of Aboriginal patients in their care.
• Provision of culturally appropriate resources.
• Engagement of AHLO services with SHIU patients when indicated.
• Increasing the profile of ABI within the Aboriginal community.

 

Allied health assistant

Allied health assistants (AHA’s) are an integral part of a client’s journey through their time at the State Head Injury Unit. AHA’s enable therapy to be implemented on a regular basis as well as being an important link between the client and the treating allied health therapist.

AHA’s assist all therapists to implement rehabilitation programs to enhance client skills and engagement. They work with the client in the home, community or clinic setting pending on the clients’ needs.

Allied health assistant work with clients to:

• Not only setting goals but working closely with the client and family/carer to achieve those goals.
• Increase confidence and independence.
• Implement exercise programs (home, community or gym) to:
  • Improve exercise tolerance.
  • Improve strength, balance and mobility.
• Assist with client accountability and engagement in rehabilitation.
• Implement of home programs to improve activities of daily living in all aspects.
  • Meal preparation.
  • Self-care etc.
• Transport training, which also assists with:
  • Use of assistive technology and applications (eg iPad and Android).
  • Utilising various transport means ie: bus, train, taxi and Uber.
• Volunteer work.
• Group / community activities and socialisation.
  • Men’s and women’s groups.
  • Adaptive recreation activities such as: mountain biking; fishing; sailing; paddle boarding; golf etc.

 

Clinical psychology

SHIU clinical psychology focusses on:

• Support during adjustment to ABI and changing health, including patient and family / support.
• Education to families and other people who are central to the lives of our patients.
• Assessment of mental illness and psychological difficulties.
• Provision of ABI specific interventions for ABI related mental illness and psychological problems.
• Referral to appropriate psychology services in the community for non ABI-specific interventions.
• Assessment and behavioural management of challenging behaviours following ABI.

 

Neuropsychology

SHIU neuropsychology specialises in understanding how the brain and nervous system influences our behaviour, cognition, and emotion. Typically, this involves using neuroimaging, neuropsychological tests, and clinical observation to understand the brain after injury. SHIU neuropsychology helps support staff and clients through the rehabilitation journey by providing consultation, assessment, and intervention. Referrals are accepted from SHIU case coordinators only. This can include:

• Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment
• Cognitive rehabilitation intervention
• Psycho-education related to brain injury, recovery, and brain health
• Client consultations for rehabilitation planning
• Staff consultations

 

Occupational therapy

SHIU occupational therapy rehabilitation programs are tailored to patient goals and may include:

• Functional cognitive rehabilitation (ie home, community or work-based).
• Functional rehabilitation of self-care (task analysis; provision of aids and equipment).
• Fatigue and sleep management.
• Functional rehabilitation of home management tasks (eg domestic tasks; financial management; organisational skills).
• Upper limb rehabilitation.
• Assistance with returning to work and other meaningful activities following ABI.

 

Physiotherapy

SHIU physiotherapy undertakes neuro-physical assessment to establish an individual’s physical abilities (including: mobility; balance; vertigo / dizziness; fatigue; falls; exercise tolerance) post-ABI. Individualised rehabilitation programs are designed to address specific patient goals and are carried out in the person’s home, community or outpatient setting.

Scope of SHIU physiotherapy intervention:

• Neuro-physical rehabilitation.
• Mobility and gait rehabilitation along the spectrum (including transfer training, hydrotherapy, return to sports, running etc.)
• Provision of home exercise programs in the home and community.
• Vestibular treatment.
• Post-concussion assessment and management.
• Linkage with community / outpatient programs.

 

Rehabilitation medicine

Rehabilitation medicine physicians are medical doctors who have completed training in the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Their aim is to:

• Treat the whole person, not just the problem area.
• Lead a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians and other physicians with the aim of promoting patient care.
• Provide treatment focussed on improving function.
• Guide a treatment plan.
• Have a wide medical expertise that allows management of conditions throughout a person’s lifetime.

The overarching goal of the rehabilitation physician is to help promote a patient’s functional ability within the challenges of their disability, and thus, the focus of treatment is towards optimising each patient’s quality of life.

Within the SHIU, the rehabilitation physician provides consult appointments and reviews and guides the multi-disciplinary team where medical expertise is required. Ongoing medical care is directed back to the patient’s GP or primary health physician.

 

Social work

The SHIU social worker’s aim is to provide support for immediate and long term psychosocial issues for patients post-ABI, to ensure, as best as practicable, patient safety within the community. The SHIU social work role is broad, with support provided across a number of areas relevant to recovery post-ABI:

• Centrelink support and advocacy.
• Applications for administration and guardianship.
• Referrals to appropriate agencies and support services, including NDIS.
• Emotional support.
• Carers education, support and referral.
• Assistance with financial matters and linking with financial counselling services.
• Legal matters – whilst SHIU social workers do not have a legal background, they are able to assist with referrals to community legal centres; and applications for criminal compensation, should the patient be eligible.

 

Speech pathology

SHIU speech pathology assesses the patient’s communication ability – speaking, understanding, reading, writing and non-verbal skills – and devises rehabilitation programs appropriate to patient needs. The rehabilitation focus for patients is on functional recovery and community re-integration. Patients are assisted to maximise their residual skills and to learn strategies to communicate more effectively.

SHIU speech pathology can also assist patients who may experience swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) following their ABI by assessing and developing treatment plans with the patient and their family / carers.