Stroke rehabilitation
The course has proved economical . The provision of a group session provides a saving in staffing hour costs and transport costs are significantly reduced .”
Stroke rehabilitation
The course has proved economical . The provision of a group session provides a saving in staffing hour costs and transport costs are significantly reduced .”
Patients have requested that an invite is sent out each week . Initially a single invite was sent with a link , which could be accessed throughout the course . Following feedback from a recent group it was agreed that the link would be sent out before each session , which has improved access to the group .
Facilitators are seen as friendly and informed . Feedback provided online have identified that participants have felt confident in the practitioners delivering the course , have felt confident in the content and have found the sessions useful .
Having a second practitioner present at the first session helped provide a responsive environment ; the facilitator could focus on the group session , while the second person responded to anyone not attending , with technical problems or with telephone calls .
Service review outcomes
Providing a virtual fatigue management course has enabled participants to attend from their own home without the need to travel . This has also meant that therapists have been able to provide the course from a fixed base , saving on both travel time and costs .
Assessing the costs compared between a series of one-to-one sessions and a five-week virtual course has helped identified three key areas where the course has been cost effective : travel costs ; clinical time ; and patient feedback .
The course has provided training opportunities . The format of the virtual fatigue management course enables students , new staff and existing members of the multidisciplinary team to attend the virtual fatigue management sessions without the need to visit patients ’ homes .
Feedback from practitioners relating to content and format of the sessions has been positive and has been shared with colleagues , in order to help progress groups provided by other services .
The course has proved economical . The provision of a group session provides a saving in staffing hour costs and transport costs are significantly reduced . Costs and mileage are estimated , due to the fluctuating nature of community work , and evidenced an expected saving with the virtual group .
The service review set out to identify whether the virtual fatigue management group was effective and efficient . Feedback received was positive , from both participants and colleagues attending , and enabled participants to achieve goals directly relating to fatigue .
Finally , the group provided everyone with an opportunity to share experiences , which was the most consistent positive feedback provided .
R
Ablewhite J , Condon L , das Nair R , Jones A , Jones F , Nouri F , … Drummond A ( 2022 ) UK clinical approaches to address poststroke fatigue : findings from The Nottingham Fatigue after Stroke study . International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation , 29 ( 5 ): 1-12 . Doi https :// doi . org / 10.12968 / ijtr . 2021.0163 .
Elizabeth Tremayne J , Freeman J , Coppola A ( 2021 ) Stroke survivors ’ experiences and perceptions of post-stroke fatigue education in the subacute phase of stroke . The FASE qualitative study . British Journal of Occupational Therapy , 84 ( 2 ): 111-121 . Doi : 10.1177 / 0308022620963741 .
Words STEVE FRESHNEY , Occupational Therapist , Community Neurology Rehabilitation Team , Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust steve . freshney1 @ nhs . net
September 2023 OTnews 43