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Quality requirement 6: Vocational rehabilitation

People with long-term neurological conditions are to have access to appropriate vocational assessment, rehabilitation and ongoing support, to enable them to find, regain or remain in work and access other occupational and educational opportunities.

Headway, Dorset

Headway Dorset is a voluntary organisation and a limited company, which serves individuals with a brain injury living in Dorset. The aim of the service is to enable individuals to live close to their home, community and carers and to ensure that carers are given appropriate levels of skilled support. Services include two rehabilitation centres, a community rehabilitation service, a befriending scheme, specialist nurses, a carer support programme, case management and support to primary care trust staff undertaking NHS continuing care assessments.

Multiple Sclerosis Vocational Rehabilitation Service, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London

The service was established in 2006, and aims to support work retention for people with MS.

Intervention consists of assessment, work place visit, work planning, advice about and referral to Access to Work scheme, fatigue management and where necessary, psychological assessment and physiotherapy input.

The service is willing to share information resources it has produced on different aspects of service, including leaflets on fatigue management, disability discrimination act, adjustment in the work place.

Pre-vocational Programme for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury, Moor Green, West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre

The Pre-vocational Programme for Adults with ABI is for people with ABI not ready for work in the open employment market. It assists them to move towards their goal of returning to work in a meaningful capacity through formal and informal assessment, teaching of specific strategies and skills as part of an individualised programme and opportunities to practice work skills in-house. Defining return to work as a meaningful occupation (including paid employment, voluntary work, further vocational training and education), the Programme has a 70% success rate. The Team are willing to share their experiences and specific resources.

STAR Project, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff

The STAR Project covers South East Wales and aims to support people with acquired brain injury to access a variety of vocational opportunities, including voluntary work, education and training, and paid employment.

(i) Working Life Service, (ii) Vocational Service & (iii) Capacity to Engage Neurosupport, Liverpool

The Working Life Service works with people affected by neurological conditions. It offers advice, guidance and counselling around future directions including work and meaningful alternatives to work. The Vocational Service works closely with the Working Life Service but focuses exclusively on vocational outcomes – jobs, retention, vocational training and voluntary work.

Capacity to Engage is a lottery funded project run jointly with Merseyside Disability Federation to work with voluntary health and social care organisations to help them make their services accessible to people from black and racial minorities.

'Working Out' Programme, Community Head Injury Service (CHIS), Vale of Aylesbury Primary Care Trust

'Working Out' is a specialist brain injury vocational assessment and rehabilitation programme which aims to:

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