Huntercombe therapist advises on ethical and patient-centred feeding interventions for patients with dysphagiaDec 12th, 2011
A Huntercombe speech therapist has called for brain-injury rehabilitation services around the country to examine how they can most ethically provide food and drink to patients with dysphagia.
Gerry Roxburgh, senior speech and language therapist at Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Bristol, said widely-held assumptions about feeding dysphagia patients should be challenged to allow for a more holistic and humane approach.
Gerry was one of the key speakers at the “Advances in Neuroscience in a Challenging Commissioning Environment” conference in Derby on Tuesday, November 22.
Hosted by the Huntercombe Group, the event was a forum for brain-injury professionals and commissioners to discuss latest developments in neuroscience, rehabilitation care and medical technology, and how proposed changes in commissioning may facilitate their benefit for patients.
During her presentation, Gerry argued that a more patient-centred feeding approach - as adopted at FrenchayBrain Injury Rehabilitation Centre - improvespatient emotional well being, prevents patients from being unnecessarily fitted with PEG feeding tubes, and improves patient participation in daily rehabilitation routines.
From 25% - 35% of patients with brain injury suffer from dysphagia, or a swallowing disorder, as do 30 - 40% of stroke patients.
She recommended thatdysphagiamanagement be understood “contextually”, and with more emphasis on recognising that a patient’s ability to eat and drink as they would wish is “fundamental to quality of life”.
“This means real food at appropriate times and in an appropriate manner,” explained Gerry to delegates.
“Food must also be given and presented in a way that it fits in with what the patient ate before their brain-injury,” she said.
Gerry -praised by delegates for her “refreshing” approach to the topic -stressed that while safety must always be considered, a patient’s desire to eat and drink as normally as possible must rest at the heart of all decision-making.
“It’s important that care pathways think about the human side,” said Gerry whose
presentation was entitled “Hard to Swallow -Efficiency and Ethics in the Assessment and Treatment of Swallowing Disorders Following Acquired Brain Injury.”
Jane Howden, head of nursing at Huntercombe’s Nottingham Neurodisability Service, led the second conference workshop on how best to provide quality neuro-rehabilitation services.
Earlier in the day, Dr Rajiv Singh, a consultant in rehabilitation medicine, discussed recent evidence on clinical effectiveness in brain injury treatment; Dr Peter Hutchinson, of Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridgeshire, examined acute management and rehabilitation of people with a brain injury; and Dr Stefan Jankowski, consultant neuro anaesthetist at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield discussed critical care after brain-injury.
Closing the conference,David Ackroyd, centre manager for Huntercombe’s Nottingham Neurodisability Service, said: “I would like to think that this conference will help us continue to find better ways for commissioning care for patients with a brain injury.”
* See media coverage for the“Advances in Neuroscience in a Challenging Commissioning Environment”.
Huntercombe to host leading brain-injury clinicians and researchersNov 17th, 2011
The Huntercombe Group will host some of the UK’s leading brain-injury clinicians and researchers at a conference in Derby next week.
The “Advances in Neuroscience in a Challenging Commissioning Environment” conference will be a forum for brain-injury professionals and commissioners to discuss latest developments in neuroscience and medical technology, and how proposed changes in commissioning may facilitate their benefit for patients.
Huntercombe is a leading UK provider of brain-injury treatment and rehabilitation services, with 20 centres in England and Scotland.for people with a brain injury or neurodisability.
Gerry Roxborough, a speech and language therapist at Huntercombe’sFrenchayBrain Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Bristoland Jane Howden of Huntercombe’sNottingham Neurodisability Service will both lead workshops during the CPD-accredited conference on Tuesday, November 22, atDerby Conference Centre
The conference speakers will includeDr Rajiv Singh, honorary senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield, who will discuss recent evidence on clinical effectiveness in brain injury treatment;Dr Peter Hutchinson, of Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridgeshire, who will discuss acute management and rehabilitation of people with a brain injury; andProfessor Steve Williams of Kings College London who will discuss developments inneuroimaging.
David Ackroyd, centre manager for Huntercombe’s Nottingham Neurodisability Service, will make a welcoming speech at the conference, which is being sponsored by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.
David said: “We expect this conference to be a highly-stimulating event, with some fantastic speakers. Brain-injury treatment, care and rehabilitation is still a relatively new medical and clinical discipline, and Huntercombe is always keen to explore new possibilities and opportunities for our patients.”
More details on the conference here: http://www.huntercombe.com/company-info/events-and-exhibitions/13/advances-in-neuroscience-in-a-challenging-commissioning-landscape
Leading independent specialist healthcare provider, The Huntercombe Group, has appointed Denise Hunter as Centre Manager at its Granville Lodge Centre in Hartlepool.
Our centre specialises in the provision of long-term and respite care for children aged between nine and 17 years with diagnosed physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and associated learning disabilities. Situated within a specially adapted Victorian house in a residential setting, the centre provides highly skilled and individual nursing and social care within a safe and homely environment. Children staying with us long-term are actively encouraged to access education and to participate fully in a wide range of community activities.
Denise has worked at Granville Lodge for six years now. She was initially employed as a housekeeper and has since progressed through to Support Worker, Senior Support Worker, and Team Leader before accepting the position of Centre Manager. She has a level 4 NVQ in Leadership and Management of Children and Young People and is currently studying for her NVQ Level 5.
Regional Manager for the North East, Colin Inglis said, "Granville Lodge has built a reputation for the quality of treatment provided to children with physical disabilities, and Denise has played an important part in that. We’re delighted to appoint her as Centre Manager and are confident that she and her team will continue to develop the service to the benefit of the children we care for”.
Huntercombe Services – Nottingham has recently been awarded, “Approved Provider Status” by the leading charity; Headway, the Brain Injury Association. The achievement has been awarded to the Centre’s neurological high dependency service based at its site in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Headway have now extended the scheme to additional specialist care facilities in the UK that are providing care for patients with head injuries with either complex physical and/ or cognitive impairment. Only centres and hospitals complying with the standards and assessment criteria identified by Headway receive the accreditation and will be included in Headway’s Directory of Approved Providers for use by families and professionals.
Centre Manager, David Ackroyd says:
“The team are delighted to have received this recognition that the standard of care we routinely deliver meets Headway’s high standards for patients and their families/carers. This is a wonderful endorsement of our service and we are very proud to be involved with Headway in this excellent project.”
Based in on the outskirts of Nottingham City, Huntercombe Services – Nottingham is a 100 bedded dual site, offering services in neurological high dependency and neurodisabilties with a new service planned for launch next year which will offer slow stream rehabilitation.
Huntercombe Services – Nottingham is part of The Huntercombe Group, one of the leading specialist healthcare providers in England and Scotland, offering professional treatment in the areas of Mental Health, Brain Injury and Neurodisabilities, Addiction, Learning Disabilities and Children with Specialist Needs.
