Slow-stream rehabilitation: is it effective?

Fifty-two patients, who were not considered to be suitable for traditional therapy, were evaluated on their admission (53 admissions) to the Slow Stream Rehabilitation Unit at Greenwich Hospital, and on and after their discharge from hospital, with a minimum follow-up period after discharge from hospital of 13 months. Mobility and the capacity to perform basic self-care activities were assessed by means of a set protocol while traditional rehabilitation therapies were employed. Of the 53 admissions to hospital, there were eight inpatient deaths and 45 discharges from the Unit: 19 discharges to home and 26 discharges to institutional care. This represents a considerable improvement over the initial assessment that all patients would need nursing home accommodation or prolonged hospitalization. At the second follow-up examination, seven of the 19 patients who were discharged home originally, still resided at home. There were 15 patients in nursing care while 23 patients had died. Most patients had maintained their discharge levels of mobility and self-care, unless a further disability had supervened. The majority of carers and patients expressed gratitude for the opportunity that the patients had had to undergo therapy, with the possibility of an eventual return to their own homes, rather than to have proceeded directly to a nursing home.