Lewin stroke and rehabilitation unit

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Hi there, my name's Ian.

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I was a patient here in the

Lewin Ward back in July 2023

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after suffering an ischaemic stroke out of the blue.

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Hello, my name's Sarah.

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I had a stroke back in August 22 at the age of 55.

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When you arrive first on the

ward it can be quite scary

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to know what's going on, but this

video is to highlight what is available

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to you as a patient, what you can

ask for and the simple things

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that you can go and request quite easily.

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The Lewin Ward is down on level 2.

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It's in the R block and it's

right near the Jubilee Garden.

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There are six bays with four

beds in each bay and a bathroom.

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On the ward by your bed space,

there would be a buzzer so

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you could just press the button

and somebody would

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come and help you if you

needed help straight away.

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A usual day in the Lewin Ward involves

being woken up at some point to

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take your medication and surveillance,

so blood pressure, etc.

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I look forward to having

my wash with the help of

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the nurses in the bathroom.

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They wheel me there.

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and I'd recommend bringing

as much of your clothing

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from home and toiletries from

home that you want to store here

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because it's nice to have

a few creature comforts

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that remind you of home while you're here.

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Had my family bring in the right footwear for me

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which was helpful for me to be

able to put on as well by myself.

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There's also internet access

here and you can have an iPad

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and communicate with the outside

world while you're in in the hospital.

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and communicate with your family and friends.

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Breakfast is usually around

eight o'clock and you do get

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a full choice of what you'd like.

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If there are any particular requirements

or you have dietary requirements

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your health practitioner will speak you

about what you can and can't have.

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During your stay at the Lewin you may

have a timetable given to you that

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structures certain therapy sessions, etc.

throughout throughout your stay.

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These will vary day by day, so it's important

to keep a note of what's going on.

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During my day, I had speech and language therapy

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physical therapy, and various occupational

therapy and dieticians coming

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to speak to me on a on a regular basis.

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So do be aware that people will

be coming and going all day.

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there's a big team on the Lewin ward from

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therapists to doctors etc and nurses

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so you'll see a lot of people coming

and going all day long.

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They're there to help you so please

do ask for help when you need to

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don't sit there quietly.

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It's all about being rehabilitated

and your next journey,

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so they're there to help you in that process.

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One of the one of the nicest parts

of the day is your lunch choice.

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You'll get a menu given to you at some

point after breakfast where you can select

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your lunch menu option.

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You can bring your own food in from

home by all means, but please

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do speak to the healthcare professionals

to let them know what you're having so

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they can keep a note of what

you've had and just check it

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it can be had with your medication etc.

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The therapy sessions on the

Lewin ward could be individual

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one to one basis, or it

could be a group participation.

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There was a regular gym session with

several members of the ward coming down

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and doing a group session

on rehabilitation exercise

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which was really good during my stay.

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Sometimes it was on the ward

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but most of the time it would be a two to one

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and I would be helped into a

wheelchair and be taken either

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along to the corridor so I could practice

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my walking or going to the

physio room again where

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I could practice standing up

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all the exercises with the help of all

the equipment which was in the gym.

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The therapist was very good because

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at the beginning cannot speak at all.

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The therapists were very good for encouraging

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me to speak and to how

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to do my exercises by the

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nurse so can speak again.

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some of your therapy, whether it's speech

and language or occupational therapy

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could be at the bedside, so be aware that other

patients will be doing that at the same time.

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You may also be able to have

therapy in the garden areas

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whether it's outside the break room

or in the Jubilee garden.

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I had some OT as well where they

helped me mostly with my

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my arm, but also I remember

going to the OT kitchen

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where I was challenged to bake some

cookies and they turned out amazing.

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During the therapy sessions, you'll be given

some additional tasks that you can do

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in your own time and there's plenty of

time to be able to complete these tasks

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practicing walking, talking etc, as much

as you can with around the ward area.

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I'd recommend doing that.

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The timetable was not always full.

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So a lot of the time will be on your own.

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So it's the important to have something to do.

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because I cannot speak and I cannot walk.

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So a lot of things would be, have to have

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a lot of things to do during time when

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there was no session with therapist.

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On how to be able to walk

again and a speak again.

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So a lot of time I would do, I was a

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doing this on my own.

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Do speak to the staff about opportunities

to leave the ward during a stay.

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By all means you can walk around

to the garden, to the concourse

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but do speak to the staff to

check your ability in doing so

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and whether you need help in doing so as well.

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Also there's a lovely jubilee garden where you could sit

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in the sunshine and also actually there's a terrace

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just in the ward where if the sun shines you

can spend some time outside as well

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So you don't have to be stuck by your bedside.

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it's very much a team environment in

your room in the Lewin ward and I'd

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recommend speaking to your

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fellow patients and a bit of

camaraderie and encouragement

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to help them through that day as well.

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if you've got any questions and you're

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not really sure who to ask,

my husband actually did take

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me in my wheelchair down to the

nurses station where there's

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always somebody there who can help

you and answer your question for you.

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Getting into a routine while you on

the Lewin ward is really important

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I would recommend every day

getting up, having a shower

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and putting your own clothes on.

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It's really important to have a

routine to help the structure

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of a day and that will help

your rehabilitation process

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in getting discharged home as well.

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Hello, my name is Professor Liz Warburton

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and I'm one of the doctors working

in the stroke unit consultant team.

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We have a large team of professionals on

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the Lewin who are all there to support

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you and your recovery as much as they can.

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The time on the Lewin ward

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is only really the start of your overall journey.

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The Lewin ward is a space

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that's specifically designed for both assessment

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and rehabilitation.

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So if you are admitted to the Lewin ward

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you could either be a neuro rehabilitation patient

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or somebody who's had a stroke who

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then is pretty much medically stable and

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needs either assessment or rehabilitation.

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what happens to you may depend on where you live.

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So the ward really

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is for patients from Cambridgeshire.

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So if you don't live in

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Cambridgeshire, then you may be on

the Lewin for a short time,

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waiting for an appropriate place for you to

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go in your own area.

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You may need a short period where

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we assess problems, issues and what treatment you need.

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And then you may be on the ward for only

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a few days before you're allowed to go home and

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carry on with whatever rehabilitation you need

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at home.