For Patients, Family and Carers

State Head Injury Unit patient services

Case coordination

Case coordinators (CC) work with you (the patient) and your support network to coordinate care services and rehabilitation to work towards your goals once you are home and returning to the community. This includes assessment and regular contact either via phone or face to face (in the home or SHIU office) to help develop and put into action, the rehabilitation plan. The CC works closely with your health care professionals and advocates for health care needs to assist with achieving your goals. The CC will refer you to SHIU Therapy Services (or external services) based on the needs and goals identified.

 

Aboriginal health liaison officer

SHIU Aboriginal health liaison officers (AHLOs) work alongside our CCs to help provide a culturally safe space for our clients.

As AHLOs we work as part of your team. Our aim is to provide a culturally appropriate approach for you to work towards your goals, by liaising, advocating, and supporting/assisting your needs.

We are here to help you get the best out of your rehabilitation, as well as help you to re-connect to the community.

 

Allied health assistant

Allied health assistants support both the therapist and you, the patient, to safely and effectively undertake your rehabilitation program in the most appropriate setting.

 

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 your, the patient’s, lives.
• 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 specialise in understanding how the brain and nervous system influences our behaviours, thinking skills, and emotions. SHIU Neuropsychology may offer:

• Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (i.e., understanding your cognitive, behavioural, and emotional presentation, as well as how this relates to injury)
• Rehabilitation of thinking skills such as memory or problem solving
• Education around brain injury, recovery, and brain health
• Rehabilitation planning

 

Occupational therapy

SHIU occupational therapy (OT) provides individual assessment and rehabilitation programs which are tailored to your goals. This may include:

• Assessment of your thinking, planning, problem solving, attention, and memory skills to guide rehab programs in the home, community or at work. This assessment may be a formal assessment; or the OT may assess how you are managing your activities of daily living.
• Increasing independence with self-care such as dressing, eating, showering and looking at the use of aids and equipment to assist with doing these tasks.
• Fatigue and sleep management education.
• Functional rehabilitation of home management tasks eg domestic tasks; financial management; organisational skills.
• Upper limb rehabilitation.
• Assistance with returning to work, returning to driving and other meaningful activities following acquired brain injury (ABI).

 

Physiotherapy

SHIU physiotherapy provides ABI-specific assessment and goal based rehabilitation programs in outpatient, home or community setting following an ABI. The service covers:

• Neuro-physical (ABI-specific) rehabilitation and assessment looking at mobility, balance, vertigo / dizziness, fatigue, falls and exercise tolerance.
• Functional mobility and gait rehabilitation (how you move) including transfer training, hydrotherapy, return to sports, running etc.
• Provision of home exercise programs in the home and community (local gym, park etc.) to assist with returning to day to day activities and accessing the community.
• Vestibular assessment and treatment.
• Linkage with community and / or outpatient programs.
• Post-concussion assessment and management.

 

Rehabilitation medicine

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

• Treat you as a whole person, not just your reported problem area.
• Provide treatment focussed on improving your level of functioning.
• Guide your 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 your functional ability within the challenges of your disability, and thus, the focus of treatment is towards optimising your 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 your GP or primary health physician.

 

Social work

SHIU social work (SW) aim to provide support for immediate and long-term psychosocial issues following your brain injury, to ensure, as best as practicable, your safety within the community. The SHIU social work role is broad, with support provided across a number of areas relevant to recovery following 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 your communication ability – speaking, understanding, reading, writing and non-verbal skills – and develops a rehabilitation program appropriate to your needs. The focus is on functional recovery and community re-integration – improving your communication skills within the home and community. You are assisted to maximise your skills and to learn strategies to communicate more effectively.

SHIU speech pathology can also assist you should you experience swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) following your ABI by assessing and developing treatment plans with you and your family / carers.