Ward J2 information

This book booklet belongs to _________________________

Date ________________

Introduction to Ward J2: a specialist neuro-rehabilitation ward

There are different rehabilitation pathways on J2 which will determine some of your intervention and treatment during your stay.

There may be differing frequency of therapy / sessions per week depending on your needs or pathway and some people may have a timetable.

Rapid Access to Acute Rehab (RAAR)

This is part of the Major Trauma pathway and most people on J2 will be admitted into this category. Following assessment by the specialists on our ward you may be referred to further rehabilitation services, discharged home with / without community support or transferred to your local hospital. We aim to do this within 28 days. The Major Trauma team will keep you regularly updated.

Neuro-Rehab Beds

These beds are for individuals with neurological conditions who have a GP within the Cambridgeshire region and whose rehabilitation needs are deemed to be best met here.

Spinal Cord Injury Hub (SCIH)

These beds are for individuals accepted at a national spinal cord injury centre. You will receive specialist spinal cord injury (SCI) therapy while continuing to await your local centre.

General Neurosciences

These beds are for people who have neurological conditions that fall within a pathway outside of the above.

Meet the Team

During your time on the ward, you may meet and have input from one, or all, of our specialists. You can find photos of the team as you enter the ward.

Medical Team

Nursing Team

Occupational Therapy

Physiotherapy

Our role is to regain and maintain normal movement in your body. We help to strengthen your muscles, improve your range of movement, increase your exercise tolerance and develop your mobility levels.

Speech and Language Therapy

Our job is to support you in swallowing and communication, including talking, understanding what others are saying to you, reading, writing and communicating in socially appropriate ways. We support rehabilitation of swallow function and return to regular eating and drinking habits as much as possible.

Dietitians

Our role is to make sure you are receiving the necessary dietary intake to maintain healthy weight and improve recovery. We may discuss oral nutritional supplements or nutrition via tube feeding to support your dietary intake and help meet your nutritional requirements.

Neuropsychology

Pharmacist

Our role is to ensure you have the right medications to optimise your wellbeing. We will discuss these medications with you and your family, as well as the medical team.

Major Trauma Coordinators

If you are a major trauma patient you will have likely already had communication with your major trauma rehabilitation and nurse coordinator. Our role is to continue to support you throughout your stay, while documenting key aspects of your care within your rehabilitation prescription (this is a document you will be provided with on discharge). Your rehabilitation coordinator will support with onward referrals and rehabilitation decisions with you, your family and the team.

Keyworker

A member of the team above will be your keyworker. This person acts as a link between you and the team, including:

• Getting to know you, what is important to you and what your priorities are for rehab
• Support with answering any questions (re-directing to the team as needed)
• Providing regular updates and check-in with hopes / fears / challenges and other ways we can support

Your key worker is ________________

Their contact details / working hours are:

Rehabilitation happens 24 hours a day

The ward itself is a rehabilitation environment where we support you to improve and practice new techniques to find your way around specific difficulties that you may have.

Breakfast is usually provided between 8-9am, lunch is between 12-1pm and then dinner is usually between 5-6pm.

Snacks/drinks are available on request at any time. We are usually able to store a small amount of personal food items in our ward fridge for 24 hours at a time: please speak to nursing/housekeeping staff.

Where possible, please bring in your usual toiletries, loose fitting day and night clothes, underwear and shoes suitable for therapy, such as trainers or shoes with fasteners. Unfortunately we do not have washing facilities on the ward and it may be advisable to label any important/valuable items.

Although J2 is still part of an acute hospital, we do not expect you to be sat at your bed space; it may be appropriate for you to spend time on the concourse or other areas of the hospital (please liaise with staff). We are fortunate to have a garden, day room and dining room and we actively encourage these to be used. We also have a therapy room where there can be access to a computer if needed.

Feel free to bring in other items to make best use of your free time, for example books, iPad and word games. Please be aware of limited space and that we are unable to take responsibility for these items. There is free access to the hospital WiFi.

If you have a timetable, we encourage you to be ready for therapy sessions.

Some people find it helpful to write things down, take photos or take videos, as it can be easy to forget how far you’ve come.

Chat with your therapists if you would like them to support you in keeping track of your progress.

When you’re reflecting it may be worth considering what currently makes a good day or a bad day and how you would normally tackle things you find difficult.

What are we helping you work towards in your rehabilitation journey?

What are your hopes for the future, do you have any big things that are really important to you?

What matters to you most right now?

What is one small thing that you would like to achieve in the next week?

Next steps

Rehabilitation continues after hospital. You can continue working on your goals after you move on from J2 or your next place of rehabilitation and care.