I recently visited Walkergate Park, an outstanding centre for neurorehabilitation and neuropsychiatry in North East England. Walkergate Park’s wide ranging and holistic facilities are available to anyone with a disability caused by injury or disease to the brain, including...
I recently visited Walkergate Park, an outstanding centre for neurorehabilitation and neuropsychiatry in North East England. Walkergate Park’s wide ranging and holistic facilities are available to anyone with a disability caused by injury or disease to the brain, including those suffering from the effects of a brain tumour or its treatment. Today I talk about my visit to Walkergate, as they celebrate 10 years of providing forward-thinking services to their user base.
A little while ago I was contacted by Elaine Fletcher, the Service Manager of Walkergate Park Hospital, a centre for neurorehabilitation and neuropsychiatry following illness or injury to the brain. Walkergate is local to me in North East England, and so Elaine had heard of my blog. As someone who’s blogging about life with a brain tumour, Elaine asked me if I’d like to come in and see Walkergate’s centre and services in person, and join celebrations of the centre’s 10 year anniversary.
Who does Walkergate Park help?
Walkergate Park helps people facing neurological illness or injury. Prior to Elaine getting in touch I hadn’t actually heard of or used Walkergate’s services myself, so my first port of call was to do some research. I read online about the services they offer, and the kind of people Walkergate Park helps. One (anonymised) case study stood out to me in particular – a young lady whose name had been changed to ‘Kelly’. At 19, Kelly had suffered a stroke while preparing for her exams. She underwent successful surgery but was left with palsy and paralysis. Following admission to Walkergate Park, Kelly took part in a comprehensive rehabilitation programme and regained ability to manage everyday tasks that most of us take for granted – to wash herself, make a cup of tea and go for walks. Due to the help and assistance provided by Walkergate Park, Kelly has now made an almost full recovery and is looking to retake her exams.
Kelly’s story really struck a chord with me. My brain tumour was diagnosed when it caused a brain haemorrhage in my final year of Uni. Finishing that degree I’d worked so hard for was so important to me, so I was elated to see that Kelly had been able to return to her exams. I could see that Walkergate’s service users clearly had stories not too dissimilar from my own.
The brain is complex: providing holistic rehabilitation
Of course; brain injury is almost always complex. There is so much packed into the space within the brain, that a disease or injury is unlikely to affect just one neurological function. Walkergate Park is clearly designed around this, and offers holistic services to assess, treat or rehabilitate many aspects of brain injury. If as a result of your brain injury, you need to see a dietician, a speech therapist, and a psychologist, here you can do all of those things under one roof.
Facilities available at Walkergate Park include a hydrotherapy pool, a gym, a therapy garden and therapy rooms, and an incredibly well-equipped Drive Mobility centre which offers assessment, information and independent advice to those whose illness or injury may affect their ability to drive or use a vehicle as a passenger. When I was reapplying for my driving licence, I would’ve found testing my new limits with these facilities incredibly useful.
Quite clearly, Walkergate Park has a holistic approach to its ultimate aim for service users – maximising potential for independence. Being able to access such a wide spectrum of services in one place means that if you’re someone facing neurological illness or injury, you’re able to concentrate on refinding your ‘self’ as a whole. This is why the centre is acknowledged as one of the most advanced in Europe and has been rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.
Celebrating 10 years of care – attending the celebration
From the second I walked in the room set aside for Walkergate’s 10 year celebration, I could see this was a day not just about the service users, but for them. This was reflected in the guest list – service users past and present – and also in the day’s speakers, which included Nick Hedley, chair of the service users’ forum. Nick told the room how the holistic treatment this Trust had offered him following brain injury had helped him to go back to University – his address showing first-hand how the centre can indeed maximise service users’ long term potential for independence and achievement.
Nick Hedley tells us about his time as a service user at Walkergate Park.
Following the unveiling of a plaque to mark 10 years of the centre’s service, we were taken on a tour to see the facilities in action. I was particularly taken by the beautiful multi-faith centre, which featured stained glass scenes made by the centre’s patients.
What next?
The day was rounded off by a talk from Elaine herself, who discussed future direction for the centre. The building will most certainly still be standing in another ten years’ time, but success will only come from ensuring the flagship services coming from the centre remain at the forefront of technology, providing the best possible service to those facing neurological illness or injury. One example is the Regional Environmental Controls System service which runs out of the centre, providing specialist equipment which can allow people with limited mobility or range of movement to remotely operate appliances at home or at work – including alarms, door locks, windows and light switches. These can be operated by a single finger or eye movement, allowing for increased independence in personal and professional life.
Seeing what Walkergate has achieved in ten years is impressive, but the real excitement comes from imagining the rehabilitation, freedom and independence they’ll be able to offer against neurological illness or injury within the next ten years. How lucky we are to have such an advanced, forward-thinking facility here in the North East.
If you have been affected by neurological illness or injury and feel you could benefit from the services of a centre like Walkergate Park, please speak with your GP.
If you feel you could benefit from assessment through Drive Mobility, please contact the centre on (0191) 2875090 for further information.