We accept referrals from GPs, Consultants, or other healthcare professionals.   We also will accept self-referrals from patients who have accessed our service in the past.

Once a referral is received, a patient will be offered an initial assessment to determine if we are the right service to meet their needs. Once this is established, the assessment will focus on what the patient wants to achieve by working with our service (we call these ‘patient centred goals’).

The patient will then be placed on therapy waiting lists for the professionals they need to help them work towards their goals.

Our goal waiting times are up to four weeks for a priority referral and twelve weeks for a routine referral. Unfortunately, our waiting times are longer than we would like at present, but we are working hard to reduce these.

Whilst patients are waiting to be seen by our service, we encourage them to watch this video (currently in development). Patient engagement in rehabilitation is extremely important and we hope this video will help patients and their families to think about what goals they would like the service to support them to work on.

Once a patient starts their therapy journey, they will be offered up to eight sessions per professional over a period of four months.

A patient can refer themselves back to the service if at a later time they identify additional therapy goals, or their condition deteriorates and they would benefit from another period of therapy.  They will then be offered a re-assessment to consider the best options.

Sometimes, it is felt that the patient will benefit from a short stay in a therapy bed when it is felt that the therapy needed can not be delivered at home or in community settings. This will be discussed between patients and their therapists and will be offered in a community bed.

If you have been invited to an appointment or group at St Marys Hospital, we expect that you will attend via your own transport, taxi, private car or bus.

If for any reason you are struggling to get to your appointment or group, please contact and discuss this with us.

Here is some useful contact information to support you with getting to your appointment or group.

Getting to St Mary’s Hospital

The following may help you:

• Bus 16/16a Wheelchair Accessible -Seacroft to Pudsey. Every 10 minutes Monday—Friday daytime. Stops directly outside the Hospital on Green Hill Road. wymetro.com
• Leeds Alternative Travel will take you door to door for a small charge 0113 386 8880
• Contact Leeds Directory 0113 391 8333 for information about local travel schemes. leeds.gov.uk
• If you receive the high rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance/ PIP (PIP enhanced rate) or War Pensioner Mobility Supplement you must use this to pay for your transport costs to appointment or group.

Travel costs

If you are on a low income you may be able to claim for a refund of your travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs (HTC) scheme.

To find out if you are eligible and how to claim, visit the NHS Choices website www.nhs.uk or phone 0845 610 1112 to order a paper copy of the travel claim form and eligibility document (HC, HC11).

You can ring the Patient Experience Team in Leeds.

Please keep receipts and records of your journeys.

Change in circumstances

If your situation changes and you are unable to attend your appointment or group, please contact the Community Neurological Rehabilitation Service.

Parking

There is limited parking available (Including blue badge spaces) on the St Mary’s Hospital site for patients, staff and visitors. Parking is free.

Hello my name is Dr Collins. I am a consultant in rehabilitation medicine.

As part of your rehabilitation, you might need some help with medical things that relate to your neurological condition. We will help you to manage your condition better, provide you with medical advice and treatments if needed. This may include symptom management through medication changes and advice. We also help with overall co-ordination of your care, linking in with your GP and hospital doctors if needed as well as working closely with the other members of our team. You might have an appointment with one of the doctors at home, in a clinic room at St Marys hospital or over the phone.

Hello my name is Vanessa. I am a specialist Neurological Dietitian.

Having a neurological condition can sometimes lead to swallowing problems, problems with your bowels, changes in appetite, feeling full quickly, having difficulty shopping, preparing or cooking your meals which might affect the type of food you eat, or how often you eat. If this is a problem for you, a dietitian may assess you and can offer advice and support on your diet to help you be as strong, healthy, and independent as possible.

Hello my name is Joanne. I am a rehabilitation nurse.

The nurses in the team support you to self-manage your own health conditions. Some examples of these includes health education, managing your own medication and continence issues all of which may be impacting your sleep, social activity or quality of life. We may also support you to engage with other health services to enable you to have control over your own health.

Hello my name is Sheila. I am an Occupational Therapist.

An Occupational Therapist will help you identify daily activities that are meaningful to you and help you overcome challenges, to increase your independence, safety and quality of life. These activities might include personal cares, domestic tasks, accessing the community and work but can cover a much wider variety. How we work with you is based on your goals and we will use a range of strategies to help you work towards these.

Hello my name is Lynn. I am a physiotherapist.

As part of your rehabilitation, you may meet with a Physiotherapist. We will aim to understand your movement difficulties by assessing your mobility, strength, joint movement, sensation, posture and balance. Your therapy will be focused on your goals. This may include hands on therapy to support achieving more normal movement patterns, exercise therapy, advice on your condition and self-management. As part of this we might also support you to visit your local gym and swimming or hydro pools. We will see you at home, in the local community or at our therapy gym at St Marys Hospital

Hello my name is Ben. I am a consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist.

Neuropsychologists can help you with your mood and thinking skills (which we call cognition). We can help you adjust to life with your neurological condition by helping you to understand what has happened to you, how you might manage your emotional response and adapt aspects of your environment.

You might have your cognition assessed to help us to identify your strengths and difficulties. This will help you understand your cognition more and the impact it may be having on your daily life at home, work or with your studies.

Hello my name is Lynn. I am therapy assistant practitioner.

Therapy assistants work with the rest of the team to support you to work towards your goals. We will carry out treatment plans agreed with your therapists, helping you to gain confidence and practice the skills you need to progress.

We all look forward to supporting you on your rehabilitation journey with the neurological rehab team.