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Information about stroke
Sheffield Stroke Service
Help & support

Community Stroke Service ‘CSS’

In your home

Practical Information and what to expect

This team visits you in your own home. The amount of therapy will depend on each person’s needs.

Care calls

You may need  extra help at home.  Our Rehabilitation Assistants can provide care calls to help with activities like:

  • washing and dressing
  • Taking medications
  • Preparing meals
  • Toileting

Within 2 weeks we will refer you to social services.  They will assess your long term care needs.

The first visit

The team will visit you soon after you get home from hospital / SPARC.   If you are having care calls the first visit will be on the day you arrive home.  If it is later the team will contact you and arrange this with you. 

The therapist that visits will check out your safety at home including your medication.  They will talk to you about your needs.  It may take a few visits to begin to work on your goals.  The number of visits you will receive will vary depending on your goals. 

The visits may be from therapists or Specialist Rehabilitation assistants who work together. The service runs from 8:30 – 4:30 with a reduced service at weekends.  We will arrange appointments with you either in person or by phone.

Contacts

The main team office is based at SPARC (Stroke Pathway Assessment and Rehabilitation Centre) at Beech Hill, Norfolk Park Road, Sheffield S2 3QE

Department

Main contact number - 0114 307 8320
Individual team members - The individual therapists and assistants are contactable via the main admin number above. Therapist may be out on visits and will return your call as soon as possible.

Meet the team

These nurses can support you and offer Stroke education and guidance as well as monitoring your health as needed.

Therapy will work towards your own personal goals. It may involve techniques and exercise to improve the control and movement of the body. The aim of treatment is to enable you to become as independent as possible in everyday life.

The Occupational therapist will see how the stroke has affected your ability to carry out and organise everyday activities. They may also look at your thinking skills such as concentration and memory. Therapy will be directed towards your own personal goals. It might take place in everyday activities e.g. supporting you to wash and dress yourself, making food or drink in your kitchen or planting plants in your garden.

The pharmacy team will ensure that any medicines prescribed for you are safe. If you have any concerns or questions about your medication you can ask to see a member of the pharmacy team to talk them through with you. The pharmacist will work with you to help you become as independent as possible with your medication. They have aids and techniques to help you with taking your own medication.

A stroke can lead to problems affecting your speaking, understanding, reading & writing. The Speech and Language therapist will help you understand these changes. We will see what helps you communicate. We will work with you towards your communication goals swallowing food and drink can become difficult or unsafe after a stroke. This may have led to a special diet or thickened drinks or the need for alternative feeding. We will review this regularly and see what exercises might help.

Work through programmes with you that have been set by the therapists.

Many people see a psychologist after having a stroke, which can feel scary at first. Reasons for this might be Anxious thoughts and worries, Low mood, Intense emotions, changes in cognitive ability or Adjusting to life after stroke. The psychologist is there to support you and your loved ones with these changes.