Pioneers in patient care: consultants leading change
North East
Innovation: An in-patient service for people with acquired brain injury
Dr Stephen Tyrer
Janie Heppell Unit, Prudhoe Hospital, Prudhoe, Northumberland & Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Job title: Consultant psychiatrist in neurorehabilitation & pain and senior clinical lecturer, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Specialty: Psychiatry
In conjunction with the chief executive and medical director of the Northgate & Prudhoe NHS Trust, Consultant psychiatrist Dr Stephen Tyrer was closely involved in the development of an in-patient service for people with acquired brain injury. “This service, the Janie Heppell Unit, in Northumberland, now consists of 18 beds and is widely regarded regionally,” says Dr Tyrer.
“The unit helps patients by providing an environment in which existing skills are maintained and improved, lost abilities are re-learnt and behavioural and mental health problems are reduced. It provides a cohesive environment to enable rehabilitation to take place and was introduced because of a lack of suitable resources locally and nationally. It is now virtually entirely funded by local health authorities who, in the beginning, had to be convinced that the service was helpful and viable.
“Patients have responded to the new unit well and we are carrying out a case-control study, comparing the outcome of those attending the unit, with comparable patients who have been treated elsewhere”.
Dr Tyrer is aware that huge progress has been made in the treatment of these patients, but his service could be improved with provision of additional professional staff and members allied to medicine. There is a particular need for dedicated physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, who are vital in aiding recovery for these patients.
He has also been unable to open additional female beds on the hospital site because of the hospital closure programme. Dr Tyrer says: “There is a lack of junior staff because of delay in regional approval of a new programme and we cannot provide an outreach programme to 100-150 outpatients in the region because of lack of funds.