Lisa Harrison, Director and Occupational Therapist from Rehab Jigsaw Ltd was delighted to attend the UK Stroke Forum from 4th to 6th December at the International Centre, Telford. The Forum is a multi-professional event, designed to inform and promote best practice for all involved in stroke care – from acute to long-term rehabilitation. There is an emphasis on promoting the latest research and many clinical abstracts are presented.
There are 3 days of lectures and various plenary sessions to meet the needs of all attendees including lectures related to prevention and managing risk, hyper-acute and acute care, hospital care and rehabilitation and post-discharge care.
Lisa attended a series of lectures entitled “Life After Stroke – In for the long haul” and “There’s no place like home”. It was encouraging to hear Dr Kate Radford, a fellow Occupational Therapist, presenting her work so far in regard of a vocational rehabilitation programme being run from the University of Nottingham. There were a series of presentations called “What’s hot and what’s next” and it was great to hear that rehabilitation is well-represented within the current research.
Lisa had submitted a poster to be presented on “Occupational Therapy vocational rehabilitation following stroke – a practical guide on intervention to assist in return to work planning for stroke survivors”. The poster was well-received and the importance of work as a health outcome is being recognised amongst health care professionals – let’s spread the message to the wider community of businesses and employers to encourage them to support employees who may be able to return to work following illness if they are given the right support at the right time.
