From the treatment components described, the highest number of treatment components was listed for the moderately impaired patient. The treatment components used by the units surveyed are quite consistent with the 2012 Clinical Guidelines for Stroke.

BackgroundThis study compared reported staffing levels for stroke care within UK in-patient stroke units to stroke strategy staffing guidelines published by the UK Department of Health and the Royal College of Physicians. The purpose was to explore the extent to which stroke teams are meeting recommended staffing levels.MethodThe data analyzed in this report consisted of the detailed therapist staffing levels reported in the demographic section of our national survey to determine upper limb treatment in stroke units (the ATRAS survey). A contact list of stroke practitioners was therefore compiled primarily in collaboration with the 28 National Stroke Improvement Networks. Geographic representation of the network areas was obtained by applying the straight-forward systematic sampling method and the Nth name selection technique to each Network list. In total 192 surveys were emailed to stroke care providers around England. This included multiple contacts within stroke teams (e.g. a stroke consultant and a stroke co-coordinator) to increase awareness of the survey.ResultsA total of 53 surveys were returned from stroke teams and represented 20 of the 28 network areas providing 71% national coverage. To compare reported staffing levels to suggested DoH guidelines, analysis was conducted on 19 of the 37 inpatient hospital care units that had no missing data for staff numbers, unit bed numbers, number of stroke patients treated per annum, average unit length-of-stay, and average unit occupancy rates. Only 42% of units analyzed reached the DoH guideline for physiotherapy and fewer than 16% of the units reached the guideline for speech & language therapy. By contrast, 84% of units surveyed reached the staffing guideline for occupational therapy. However, a post-hoc analysis highlights this as an irregularity in the DoH guidelines, revealing that all therapies are challenged to provide the recommended therapy time.ConclusionsMost in-patient stroke units are operating below the DoH guidelines and are therefore challenged in providing the recommended amount of therapy and patient time to facilitate optimal functional recovery for stroke patients.

The objectives of this retrospective study were to (1) examine the predictive value of employer's disability management (DM) perceptions and DM policies in return-to-work outcomes for the injured worker, (2) examine factors that influence employer's DM perceptions, polices and return-to-work outcomes, and (3) examine the relationship between demographic factors of the individual and return-to-work outcomes. Employers from a northern British Columbia, Canada community were randomly selected to participate. The findings of the study supported the hypothesis that company perception towards DM is a significant contributing factor to the presence of DM policies in the workplace and that DM polices are predictive of return-to-work outcomes for injured workers.

Objective: Major improvement has been made in the medical management of stroke in the UK between 2008 and 2010 based on the indicators measured in the National Sentinel Audit. However based on the same audit, no corresponding improvement has been effected to patient functional impairment levels on hospital discharge in the corresponding time frame. This study derived patient-to-therapist ratios as a means of exploring the amount of rehabilitation time for stroke patients while in hospital care. Method: A purpose specific survey was developed for completion by stroke teams. From a contact list compiled primarily in collaboration with the 28 National Stroke Improvement Networks, the N th name technique was used to target stroke teams in each geographical area covered by the 28 networks. Results: A total of 53 surveys were returned representing 20 of the 28 network areas providing 71% national coverage. Analysis conducted on 19 of the 37 inpatient hospital care units that were discrete units, had no missing data for staff numbers, unit bed numbers, number of stroke patients treated per annum, average unit length-of-stay, and unit occupancy rates. Staffing levels for some therapies were below the Department of Health staffing assumptions suggesting that stroke units are challenged to provide the recommended therapy time. Conclusions: Most stroke units surveyed are operating below the DH staffing assumption levels and are therefore challenged in providing the amount of therapy and patient time recommended in the National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines to facilitate optimal functional recovery for stroke patients.

Although the concept of healthy workplaces has historical roots in the extant literature, it remains an elusive concept to define and apply in the workplace. Nonetheless, the literature does suggest that it is a challenging and continuously improving process of supporting, protecting and promoting the health of the employee. The aim of this study was to devise a user-friendly, climate-specific assessment tool to evaluate employees’ perceptions and knowledge of the practices and procedures in the workplace that prioritise the development of a healthy, supportive workplace. After extensive literature review and early stage pilot-testing of several independent sites within an organisation, a 31-item Likert-type scale — The Workplace Scale (WPS) — was brought forward to test its psychometric properties using an independent international sample that was gathered using email distribution. These initial distribution contacts were two of the author's professional colleagues and thereafter the scale was cascaded electronically to respondents in several countries. The factor analysis conducted on the data obtained from 108 respondents yielded a solid five factor solution that was consistent with earlier test administrations and revealed interpretable and distinct factors that strongly loaded on pertinent dimensions relevant to a healthy workplace. The tangible product is a user-friendly tool to baseline the development of a healthy, supportive workplace, while providing employees with an efficient upward communication mechanism to enable management to monitor progress. Devising the WPS was undertaken as part of wider study that subsequently compared the WPS against measures of climate, leadership and culture and is reported elsewhere.