Stroke Rehabilitation and Stroke Homecare in Bedford

What is a stroke?

A person experiences a stroke when the blood flow to the brain is cut off, either due to a blockage or a bleed in the brain. When the brain is starved of blood, it can’t access any oxygen or essential nutrients. This often results in brain cells and parts of the brain being damaged or destroyed.

What happens after a stroke?

The consequences of a stroke vary according to the individual and how healthy they were at the time of the stroke. The impact can also depend on the location in the brain where the stroke struck, its intensity and the extent of the damage caused.

Prolonged effects of a stroke often include: cognitive problems, communication problems, physical problems, depression, incontinence, pain, and fatigue.

Speak to the Bedford Right at Home office to discuss how our care at home services can help you.

How can Right at Home Bedford help with your post-stroke care at home?

Life after a stroke is different for every individual. Most people see some level of recovery during their stay in hospital. Many continue to recover and regain skills by following a care plan for stroke survivors at home.

In Bedford, if you have had a stroke, you will generally be under the care of the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) unit or Neuro-Rehab Teams (NRT).  Depending on your needs, Kempston Clinic may arrange for a short-term placement in an independent recovery unit before discharging you back home.

Right at Home Bedford can then support your recovery at home, helping with mobility, continence care, managing and administering medication, household tasks, transport and shopping. 

Equally importantly we can support Clients with their recovery and rehabilitation by assisting them to maintain their exercise routines and promoting a healthy lifestyle. We work alongside the team at the Bedford ABI/NRT including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and SALT (speech and language therapists) to support your journey.

Life after a stroke is a long period of recovery and adjustment, during which we can help Clients relearn old skills and even learn some new ones. Throughout it all, we strive to increase our Clients’ independence and allow them to get back to normal life.

Care plans following a stroke require input and development from a specialist stroke recovery team in your local hospital.

At Right at Home Bedford, our homecare for stroke patients can include:

• helping with mobility
• continence care
• managing and administering medication
• household tasks
• transport
• shopping

Importantly, our highly-trained CareGivers can also support Clients with their recovery and rehabilitation by assisting them to maintain their exercise routines and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Right at Home Bedford also has a Clinical Specialist, based at National Office, who is available to assist CareGiver teams across the network when caring for a stroke survivor.

Advice for preventing strokes

Although we cannot predict when a stroke may occur, keeping up a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of requiring stroke rehabilitation and care as we age.

The risk of suffering a stroke has several contributing factors. These include, but are not limited to:

• Blood pressure
• Genes
• Age
• Diet
• Alcohol consumption
• Smoking status
• Fitness levels
• Pre-existing medical conditions

For some of these factors, there’s not a lot that you can do - after all, we can’t change our genes. But it is well-known that maintaining a healthy, low alcohol, smoke-free lifestyle can reduce the risk of a stroke.

Identifying high blood pressure is particularly important. Your GP can check your blood pressure regularly. Doctors can then monitor your status, prescribe medication if required, and recommend lifestyle changes to lower blood pressure to normal levels. Unchecked, high blood pressure is a high contributing factor.

Addressing hypertension (high blood pressure)

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, it’s essential to keep it under control.

The best strategy for controlling and preventing high blood pressure is to begin with lifestyle changes. For older adults, this often involves a combination of light exercise, a healthy diet and medication.

At Right at Home Bedford, our CareGivers can draw up a customised hypertension programme should you need one. We’ll help to encourage a healthier way of life, including:

• Development of a light exercise schedule
• Coordination of a healthy meal plan
• Support with shopping
• Meal preparation
• Medication reminders/set-up/administration

Hypertension/stroke information and resources in Bedford

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United Kingdom
• Up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable
• For a great resource on living with hypertension, visit the British Hypertension Society
• For more information on strokes, visit The Stroke Association

Explore our Information Hub for more guidance on Health Awareness.