A new Integrated Community Stroke Service (ICSS) is being launched in North Somerset this February by Sirona care & health. This enhanced service will deliver improved, long-term support for stroke survivors in the community, helping them regain their independence. The North Somerset pilot comes ahead of the full roll out of the ICSS in across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) later in the year.
The new ICSS is part of a series of wider improvements to stroke services in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, including emergency stroke care, ongoing hospital treatment and rehabilitation. The changes also aim to increase survival rates for people who have had a stroke, and to help more stroke survivors live independently. The changes have been developed by senior clinicians, healthcare staff and people with lived experience of stroke, and was informed by a public consultation in 2021.
Emma Richards, Clinical and Operational Lead for the Integrated Community Stroke Service at Sirona care & health, said: “We’re looking forward to developing the Integrated Community Stroke Service as part of the wider improvements to make stroke care more consistent for everyone in our area. Our rehabilitation teams will help stroke survivors home from hospital sooner, rebuild their independence and work with them and their families to develop strategies to live well at home. We’ll be working closely with our hospital, GP and voluntary sector partners to provide a seamless service for our service users.”
The team will take referrals for people with a new diagnosis of stroke in North Somerset via hospital referral.
More information
- Find out more about the wider changes in stroke services in BNSSG: Healthier Together’s website
- If you are a professional and have an enquiry about the service, contact sirona.communitystrokeservice@nhs.net
- If you experience new symptoms of stroke then phone 999. The main symptoms of a stroke can be remembered with the word ‘FAST’. Find out more here
