Stroke Café set up at South Bristol Community Hospital to support stroke recovery

A Stroke Café has been set up at South Bristol Community Hospital to support inpatients who have had strokes.

Bristol Health Partners Stroke HIT used a grant from Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire’s Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB) Stroke Reconfiguration programme to launch the Café. It will run monthly, jointly supported by Bristol After Stroke and ward staff.

Having a stroke is a life-altering event. Patients in the hospital’s Stroke Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Unit (SSARU) are often still having medical treatment, and all are undergoing rehabilitation and therapy. Meeting other people with lived experience of stroke and sharing their stories is therefore vital to their recovery.

The SSARU has 30 inpatients. Eight inpatients attended the first Café on 25 January. They were joined by four representatives from Bristol After Stroke – two who shared their own experiences of stroke and two stroke keyworkers, who work in the community as part of BNSSG’s Life After Stroke service.

Rob Jones, Stroke Specialist Physio, Team Lead and Stroke Services Evaluation lead, SSARU, says:

“Meeting other people who have had a stroke and are living well is powerful for people who are just starting to put the pieces together of their new life after stroke.

“With the implementation of the new stroke model across the region, staffing on the unit is increasing. This means we can provide patients, family members and carers with more education, and more experiences focused on preparing them for thriving in their new life, like the one offered by this Café.”

The next Café takes places on 29 March.