A specialist rehabilitation unit at University Hospitals of North Midlands is celebrating five years of successful service, helping hundreds of patients in their recovery following a major trauma.
The Acute Rehabilitation Trauma Unit (ARTU) was one of the first specialised rehabilitation units to be developed within a Major Trauma Centre when it opened its doors at Royal Stoke University Hospital five years ago. The unit has grown to become a 27 bedded ground breaking facility which cares for patients following a period in intensive care or theatres or directly from the emergency department following severe head trauma, complex spinal injuries and other acquired neurological injury.
To help mark the anniversary ward teams showcased some of the many success stories from the past 12 months and staff also hosted a Covid-secure celebration for its team and staff interested in acute rehabilitation with one previous patient returning to thank the team for his care.
Patient Chance Bright, 25, from Chesterton suffered major injuries after a road traffic accident in 2019 which left him paralysed from the waist down and was a patient on the unit for more than six months. He said: “I just want to thank the unit for the care I received when I was recovering, the entire team are amazing and I got to see first-hand the fantastic work they do for all patients and not just myself. I couldn’t have recovered as well as I did without them.”
ARTU Senior Staff Nurse for Quality, Leanne Allcock said: “When the unit first opened in 2016, we only had 10 beds and now five years later we are a 27 bed unit. One of the key benefits of the unit has been the ability for patient rehabilitation to start from day-one of their care. We have had some patients stay with us up to a year, receiving some intense therapy and rehabilitation and we wanted to do something to celebrate the many patients we have helped to recover and achieve their rehabilitation goals and successes.”
ARTU forms part of the UHNM Major Trauma Centre, which is one of the best in the country for survival rates.
