St Andrew’s brain injury service comprises the National Brain Injury Centre housed at our Kemsley unit and Berkeley Close, a step-down community-based facility providing safe longer term care. New developments include Berkeley Lodge, which opened in Spring 2009, located just outside of St Andrew's main Northampton site. It provides the link between care and independent living. In addition, a Brain Injury Service for Young People which opened in early 2011.
The charity caters specifically for service users who present highly challenging behaviour as a result of their injury.
Through six specialist units at our Northampton site, we offer a variety of gender-specific facilities at different stages of the care pathway. Our facilities are split into short term services and long term, slow stream rehabilitation providing an extension to our care pathways for both adults and young people. Our step down, pre discharge facilities build on this theme by working to optimise access to the community whilst remaining under the support of St Andrew's. This phasic, graduated approach provides continuation of the neurobehavioural model which has been the foundation of our brain injury service's success.
Multi-disciplinary teams provide 24-hour care, as well as constantly improving practices through regular involvement in research projects. A key part of our plan is to assist service users in rehabilitation by enabling them to become as independent as possible.
The Acquired Brain Injury Service for Young People will be providing full educational services using the TEACCH approach.
We have close partnerships with various universities and we have launched the UK’s first accredited courses within the brain injury field, allowing students to receive CATs points.
We offer family involvement participation wherever possible in our community based service and hold a Relative's Support Group on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7pm for relatives to drop in on.