"Poor physiotherapy"

My relative was transferred from Broomfield Hospital to St Peters Hospital for rehabilitation after suffering a stroke. The personal care they received at St Peters was excellent and they made great progress with their swallowing problems but the physiotherapy they received was poor. Whilst in Broomfield Hospital my relative received one on one physiotherapy and was making excellent progress with walking. In St Peters they received very little one on one physiotherapy and made no progress with their walking. In fact they can no longer walk and so have taken a step backwards. The only physiotherapy they received on a regular basis was arm exercises in a group twice a week for 30minutes and speech therapy in a group once a week for 15 minutes which just consisted of singing 4 songs. In fact my relative could not sing so this was no help at all. After the standard 6 weeks my relative was sent home and physiotherapy was supposed to have been arranged for them at home. This has not been arranged.

In my personal opinion St Peters Stroke unit is not a rehabilitation centre.. I believe it is being used as a stop gape between Hospital and home. i.e. It is only being used to free up hospital beds in Broomfield and giving social services time to put in place the care and equipment the patient needs at home. The equipment my relative has been given at home is excellent but the personal care they so desperately need (which the NHS provides for the first 6 weeks only) has so far has been totally unsuitable and has left my relative in a dangerous and desperate situation.