Allied Health
The service works in partnership with the clinical units and other services of Royal Rehab to provide individual rehabilitation programs for clients. Click on the links below to be taken to a brief rundown on each program.
Nutrition and Dietetics
Occupational Therapy
Recreational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Social Work
Psychology
Speech Pathology
Case Management
Services
Nutrition and Dietetics
Nutrition and Dietetics department in RRCS offers both in-patient and outpatient services. The department comprises of qualified and accredited dietitians providing a wide range of specialist services in rehabilitation.
The aim of the service is to optimise our clients’ nutritional status, health and quality of life and promote their recovery and achievement of independence. It supports the RRCS vision to “maximise abilities and optimise life skills”.
Nutrition and Dietetics department works closely with our Food Services department to ensure nutritional adequacy and delivery of high quality meals meeting our clients’ dietary needs and contribute to their enjoyment of meals. Our Food Services offer ~80% of cook-fresh meals (freshly cooked here on site) and caters to suit our culturally diverse clientele whilst meeting the nutrition standards and quality guidelines.
Royal Rehab Nutrition Department was the first in Australia to implement the CBORD Windows Nutrition and Menu Management system. This system ensures that in-patients receive choice from nutritionally balanced meals that are tailored to their specific requirements.
Staff
Ms. Priya Iyer - Dietitian Professional Leader
Ms. Yennie Huynh - Clinical/Food Service Dietitian
What services do we offer?
1. In-patient services
We provide specialised and general clinical services to all in-patients to improve their nutritional status. Our in-patient services cover a wide range of clinical areas including neurology, gastroenterology, oncology, and cardiology and general nutrition related areas.
2. Outpatient services
Our outpatient clinic operates every Tuesday mornings by appointments only. The clinic offers service in areas including general nutrition, diabetes, weight reduction, weight loss and malnutrition, enteral feeds (tube feeding), cancer, liver disease, renal disease and heart problems.
3. Community talks and seminars
Our qualified dietitians provide nutrition talks to the general community and other invitees as required.
4. Research and Education
Nutrition and dietetics department provides clinical placements for University students regularly. We have a strong commitment to service excellence and clinical competence and therefore promote ongoing research and professional development.
Hours of service
Monday to Fridays – 8.00am to 5pm
Contact us
Telephone: (02) 9809 9047 or (02) 9808 9213
Fax: (02) 9809 6071
Email: priya.iyer@royalrehab.com.au or Yennie.huynh@royalrehab.com.au
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy aims to assist individuals with disabilities become as independent as possible in performing tasks and activities which are relevant to the various roles they have in life. Our aim is to assist people in becoming independent in tasks which they will need to do in their own homes and communities before they are discharged from hospital. The department provides services to clients in the centre, at home, as outpatients and in their local community.
We help put the tasks and activities which clients learn in the Centre into a functional context by doing real tasks such as going out to a supermarket and practicing buying real items which the person would normally use. Other activities include;
- making a splint for someone's hand so they can grasp their cutlery to feed themselves
- going to a client’s home to ensure their wheelchair will be able to be manoeuvred in all areas of their house and ensure it is safe for them.
- teaching someone with memory problems strategies so they can remember to purchase everything they need at a supermarket.
Australian Association of Occupational Therapists; www.ausot.com.au
Recreational Therapy
Royal Rehab has provided specialist recreation services to clients for over 25 years at both in-patient and community level within the Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Community Services, Spinal Rehabilitation Service, Coorabel Adult Rehabilitation Service and the Disability Services Directorate.
The Recreation Therapy Service recognises that recreation and leisure activities represent an important part of individual lifestyles and represent many of the things in life that we find enjoyable, satisfying and rewarding. Through these activities we also develop many of our social networks and relationships with everyone including family, friends and work associates.
As an integral aspect of the rehabilitation process, Recreation Therapists focus on individual needs and goals. We assist clients to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to actively participate as independently possible in their chosen recreation and leisure interests. Recreation staff can assist with advice, input and a wide range of resources and equipment to assist people to continue leading an active life in the community following traumatic injury or illness.
You can contact the Recreation Therapy Service on phone 9808 9299.
An important aspect of the service has been the development of the 'disAbility Leisure, Arts, Sports and Lifestyle Web Guide'. This resource links to people and organisations from across the globe who provide many 'can do' examples from all areas of life following disabling injury/illness. The site aims to raise client awareness of life's possibilities so that people can more quickly connect to the things they love doing or discover new avenues of interest.
Physiotherapy
All clients will have physiotherapy to optimise their physical recovery.
Physiotherapy will help with weak or tight muscles, stiff joints, poor co-ordination, balance, walking and general fitness along with everyday functional activities such as rolling in bed, sitting, standing up and reaching forward/using hands.
Physiotherapists assess each client individually and prescribe an exercise program tailored to their needs. This program will be carried out in a well equipped gym with physiotherapists assisting as necessary and may consist of:
Functional Training
- Strengthening exercises
- Stretches
- Balance exercises in sitting and standing
- Transfer practice (eg. moving from bed to chair)
- Walking practice (with appropriate aids if necessary)
- Stair practice
- Fitness training
- Aquatic physiotherapy
More Information:
Physiotherapy exercises for people with spinal cord injuries and other neurological injuries: www.physiotherapyexercises.comAustralian Physiotherapy Association; www.physiotherapy.asn.au
Community Physiotherapists On-Line Group
(Google-group)
This on-line forum is intended to help and support those physiotherapists working in a community setting (in addition to our quarterly Community Physiotherapists Network Meetings). It is a place to share information, exchange ideas and ask each other for expert advice. Current resources include; discussion boards, information on up-coming professional development courses, links and information on community services, information on health care services, minutes & agendas for Community Physiotherapist Network Meetings and contact lists.
For more information and/or to join this on-line group please E-mail: Victoria.podmore@royalrehab.com.au
Social Work
Social Workers assist clients and their carers to deal with the emotional impact of illness, traumatic injury and disability and the adjustment to hospitalisation. Social Workers help clients and carers to adjust to life changes and challenges, deal with grief and loss, explore emotions, thoughts and behaviour, improve relationships and plan for the future.
Social workers provide counselling to individuals and families, assisting clients with financial, accommodation, legal and other problems, run groups to provide support for carers, discharge planning and linking clients to community support services for assistance post-discharge.
Social workers have a key role in advocating for the needs of clients and families in the health system to ensure they have a voice and are empowered to participate actively in the rehabilitation process and to make their own decisions as much as possible.
More Information:
Physical Disability Council of NSW; www.pdcnsw.org.au
Centrelink; www.centrelink.gov.au
Carers Association of NSW; www.carernsw.asn.au
Psychology
The Psychology service at Royal Rehab Centre Sydney provides clinical psychological assessment (ie. assessment of mood, thoughts and coping strategies) and neuropsychological assessments (ie. assessment of one’s thinking ability including attention, learning, memory, problem solving) to both inpatients and community clients. Following assessment the Clinical Psychologist or Clinical Neuropsychologist is able to develop individually tailored clinical psychology and neurobehavioural interventions for individuals with a variety of psychological concerns following injury and illness within the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team.
Interventions carried out by the psychology service include: cognitive rehabilitation, behaviour support strategies (for the client and those involved in their rehabilitation), goal setting, cognitive behaviour therapy, grief and adjustment counselling, community reintegration and community education. The service is provided on an individual basis as well as in groups, to both the clients themselves and to family and friends of clients where appropriate, or may be indirectly through advice, guidance and support to the other members of the rehabilitation team.
The psychology service is overseen by the Psychology Professional Leader who provides guidance and support to ensure that all psychological practices within the centre are evidenced based, and promotes the professional development of the Clinical Psychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists within the centre.
For more information about Psychology: Australian Psychological Society: www.psychology.org.au
Speech Pathology
The Speech Pathology Service provides individually tailored rehabilitation programs for clients with acquired speech, swallowing, language, cognitive, voice and/or swallowing problems. The speech pathology team's expertise stretches across all specialised units at Royal Rehab. The rehabilitation process includes education and engagement of family and friends where possible. Services may be delivered 1:1 or may occur in a group format.
Types of intervention might include:
- providing strategies for safer swallowing for someone with motor neurone disease
- retraining reading and writing skills following a stroke
- teaching someone how to speak after a traumatic brain injury
- helping a spinal injury client to maximise breath support for improved volume when talking
- prescribing and training someone to use alternative methods of communication (such as speech output computer devices) if they are unable to speak
- educating and training appropriate social communication (such as how to greet someone, being polite, tone of voice) with someone following acquired brain injury
The Speech Pathology Service has several active research commitments ensuring that the best available evidence is applied to our clients.
For more information on Speech Pathology, please see the speech pathology brochures or go to the association website www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
Case Management Services
At Royal Rehab clients may be referred to Case Management Services as part of their inter-disciplinary rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Case Management (RCM) can be defined as a client focused, collaborative, and educational practice which aims to assist clients to achieve a distinct set of goals within a specific and defined episode of their rehabilitation journey, within a proactive, problem solving approach.
To achieve this, the RCM process will include assessment, planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the services which are necessary to meet a client and their significant other’s ongoing rehabilitation needs, with the overall aim of promoting independence both within the community and with participation in life roles.
For more information please visit: www.cmsa.org.au
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