[Rehabilitation after stroke. Programs at the Sunnaas hospital]

The article describes the rehabilitation programmes for stroke patients at Sunnaas Hospital, a Norwegian university hospital for rehabilitation. Patients with complex and less frequent problems following a cerebrovascular accident can attend this third line hospital for primary or secondary rehabilitation. In addition, special short-term programmes are offered to assess the potentials for rehabilitation, competence for a driver's licence, vocational ability and swallowing problems, as well as to judge the need for technical aids for communication, mobility and management of the surroundings. The various programmes are described in detail. During 1996 a total of 306 stroke patients, median age 57 years, attended the hospital. The hospital aims to continue to be a highly specialized centre for stroke patients, also in the future, with different kinds of comprehensive and multidisciplinary rehabilitation programmes for these patients.