Co-ordinating Community Rehabilitation for the Traumatically Brain Injured Adult

Abstract

In the United Kingdom changes are currently taking place in the way care is provided in the community. For many, these developments are long awaited, but for the head injured person and their family these changes are not meeting many of their concerns. Head injury can affect people's physical cognitive, emotional and behavioural well being. This means that the head injured person often falls between services as they do not neatly fit into the categories of mental health, physical disability or learning disability, the structure that many social service departments work within.

The Head Injury Rehabilitation Centre at Sheffield aims to provide community rehabilitation, coordinate packages of care and bridge the gaps between other services. The way in which the team works is described and a case study is used to illustrate why a coordinated team approach is vital when working with the head injured person in the community.

Key words:

• Head Injury
• Team work
• Community reintegration