Donation to Surrey Downs Health and Care

Donation to Surrey Downs Health and Care 

Epsom are proud to have been able to make a donation to the Speech and Language - Adult Community Neurological Rehabilitation Team and received the following communication:

Just to follow up with a bit of information about how we are using the apps bought with the kind support of your Rotary Club:
The apps we bought are made by a specialist company called Tactus, and have been developed by speech and language therapists. They are supported by some research which show that they are useful, especially for people who develop a language disorder called aphasia. Aphasia is a spectrum condition which can affect speaking, understanding, reading, and/or writing, and it is thought to affect around one third of people who have had a stroke. People can also develop symptoms of aphasia for a range of other reasons, including traumatic brain injury, brain tumours, and some neurodegenerative disorders. Some people have mild difficulties and others have much more severe aphasia; this can last for a short time or can be a life-long change. Aphasia can have a big impact on a person's ability to do activities they enjoy, their ability to return to work, their mental health, and their relationships.
We have been able to use the apps to support patients on the inpatient neuro rehab wards - mostly people of working age who have had a stroke and need intensive rehab before they go home.
They're also really useful for us for the Stroke Supported Discharge service - this is for people who have had a stroke and are discharged home as soon as possible so that they can be back in the comfort of their own surroundings, but we obviously want to provide equal care to as if they were staying on at hospital on a rehab ward - we can quite often get several new referrals a week through this pathway, and we're using the apps in sessions to support with assessment and therapy. They're a really useful and time-saving addition to our toolkit.
We have also made a couple of short-term loans of the iPads to people we see in the community, so that they are able to complete more rehab exercises either independently or supported by their family in between sessions, giving them the opportunity to see whether they think that the apps are helpful. This is especially useful for people who might find it difficult to afford one of the apps, so want to be sure they will help.
I hope this gives you a bit more of an idea of the impact your donation has had on our work and the people we support - thanks again so much for your help.

Best wishes and Happy New Year,
Hannah

Hannah Harvey (she/her) | Speech & Language Therapist

Adult Community Neurological Rehabilitation Team| Surrey Downs Health and Care
Tel: 01372 735574 | Mob: 07507 639668 | Email: hannah.harvey15@nhs.net

Hours of work: Monday - Friday 08:30 – 16:30

Surrey Downs Health and Care is an innovative partnership between the local GP federations (GP Health Partners in the Epsom, Leatherhead and Ewell area, Dorking Healthcare for Dorking practices and Surrey Medical Network for practices in the East Elmbridge area), CSH Surrey and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.