Stroke Rehabilitation and Stroke Homecare in Bristol

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 are the after-effects of a stroke?

The after-effect of a stroke varies 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. 

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

Get in touch with the Bristol Right at Home office to discuss how our care at home services can support you.

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

Life after a stroke is different for everyone. 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. 

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

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

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

Importantly, our professional 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 Bristol 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, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of needing stroke rehabilitation and care later in life.

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 no action you can take - there’s nothing we can do about 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 reduce blood pressure to normal levels. Unchecked, high blood pressure is a high contributing factor.

Dealing with hypertension (high blood pressure)

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

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

At Right at Home Bristol, our CareGivers can devise a customised hypertension programme should you need one. We’ll help to promote a healthier lifestyle, 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 Bristol

• 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

Browse our Information Hub for advice on Health Awareness.