Circle of Care for Home report phase 1

This study set out to explore how we might increase capacity in a community stroke service without additional resource. We explored this using a co-design approach and then implemented the proposed intervention.

The intervention consisted of a change to the scope of practice for Rehabilitation Assistants, with a range of supporting strategies such as training, technology for real time clinician consultation with senior therapists and patient facing communication, that were intended to mitigate clinical risks.

This change in scope of practice enabled Rehabilitation Assistants to take on more independent work with less complex patients, which allowed senior therapists to carry out more work with complex patients.

This simply shift would enable more patients to flow through the service in a given period of time without increasing the workforce or increasing working hours.

The work was dramatically halted by COVID. This report outlines the work carried out up to this point.