Hi Monika,
I am sorry to hear about your brother’s stroke and its impact on him and your family. We understand that this is a very challenging time and it can be overwhelming trying to navigate the hospital journey.
According to the National Stroke Rehabilitation Framework, assessment for rehabilitation should occur as early as possible to determine the person with stroke’s rehabilitation needs. The issue of when the person with stroke should be assessed for ongoing rehabilitation is unclear but consensus suggests this should occur within the first week.
While the highest opportunity for recovery occurs within the first few months of stroke, there is clear evidence that benefits of rehabilitation can continue to be achieved over time. We believe that with focus, repetition and appropriate support, a survivor of stroke can continue to make gains.
Have you spoken to the his hospital team to rationalise why they are saying he has reached his “recovery plateau?”
After the acute hospital/ stroke ward, there are different pathways for rehabilitation. These typically include 1) inpatient rehabilitation 2) community rehabilitation.
It is also important to clarify why they do not feel he is eligible for inpatient rehabilitation?
Although there hasn’t been clear indicators to identify to confirm someone as ineligible or unlikely to benefit from rehabilitation, the team often consider a few criteria like:
- Physical ability to participate in rehabilitation
- Time they can tolerate a program/ exercise – this can be affected by multiple factors like alertness, fatigue, infection, other medical conditions
- Cognitive ability/ ability to follow instructions etc.
You or your family can request a family meeting with the stroke team at any time. This is a way of keeping up-to-date with progress and making decisions about goals, next steps and discharge planning.
If you are concerned about an issue or decision, you may need to make a complaint. All health services have a complaints procedure to resolve issues and to make sure that other people don't have the same problem.
The complaints process usually has the following steps:
- If possible, speak to the health professional involved.
- If that doesn't help, speak to the nurse unit manager.
- If you're still not happy, the health service will have a patient advocate or consumer liaison officer you can contact. You can usually find them on the organisation's website, or ring to ask who to speak to.
- If that still doesn't work, you can go to the government Health Care Commission or Ombudsman. Complaintline has a list of contacts for each state and territory.
For more about self-advocacy, see our blog on How to get the health care you need.
You are also welcome to give us a call on StrokeLine to speak with one of our health professionals. We understand that it is a tough time and we are here to support you.
Call 1800 787 653. We are available Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm AET.
All the best,
Fi (StrokeLine)
