A centre of excellence to care and support people recovering from a stroke will be developed at the University Hospital, Llandough, Health Minister Edwina Hart has announced.
The £6million Assembly Government-funded development will bring together all stroke rehabilitation services at Llandough and Cardiff Royal Infirmary West Wing under one roof to improve care for patients and support for families.
The Welsh Assembly Government will continue to invest 40 per cent of its budget – the largest single budget – in health and social services, showing the importance of the services. The final Assembly Government Budget was laid yesterday and voted on by AMs on 8 February.
The purpose-built new centre, which is expected to open to patients by August 2011 will include:
- 47 rehabilitation beds;
- Multi-disciplinary teams to assess patients and develop individual tailored rehabilitation programmes;
- The use of neuroplasticity, a treatment of the brain to change and adapt, following a stroke. This will help to speed up recovery and reduce hospital stay;
- Access to other medical teams and support services, where required; and,
- Patients will be supported by a stroke outreach service when they leave hospital.
The plans by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board are in line with the Welsh Assembly Government strategy to improve stroke care across Wales.
Mrs Hart said:
“Stroke can have devastating impact on individuals and their families.
“This new centre will reduce duplication and improve care by bringing together health professionals with the skills and expertise in stroke care and rehabilitation.
“We are maintaining our investment in the health service in cash terms over the next three years. This centre is an example of our continued commitment to investing in frontline services.
“This investment is part of our overall strategy to reduce the incidence of stroke and efforts to improve stroke rehabilitation. This will be achieved through more education and awareness as well as speeding up access to treatment to minimise the impact of a stroke. Rehabiliation is essential to improve the quality of life for individuals and their families.”
David Francis, the Chair of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, added:
“The Health Board is delighted to receive this investment. This will enable us to provide a single centre of excellence for stroke rehab services for the people of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan at University Hospital Llandough.
“The new rehabilitation centre will build on the excellent work already being done by the health board to improve stroke services which has included piloting Wales’ first 24/7 thrombolysis programme and the investment in telemedicine technology to improve patient care on behalf of NHS Wales.”
