Saudi Stroke Standards

Vocational Therapy Purpose Stroke patients and their family members should be enabled to participate in paid, supported and voluntary employment. Rationale  Studies show that work is good for physical and mental health. There is a strong inter-relationship between health, work and well-being.  Workplaces could offer simple, reasonable adjustments to enable stroke patients to return to work where possible.  The workplace is also one of the best forms of rehabilitation. Many stroke patients will not be ready to return to work in the short term but may be able to do so in the longer term, and so can benefit from arrangements to give access to rehabilitation and support for return to work for weeks, months or years post-stroke, as appropriate for the individual patient. There is evidence that this can be achieved by offering vocational rehabilitation to people after a stroke, and this may need to begin when they are in hospital. It will also include access to government schemes for return to work. Volunteering can also provide both a means of trialing return to work and a satisfying alternative to paid employment for some people.  It may also be important to offer support for employers and voluntary organizations in adapting working conditions, especially for people with physical, communication and cognitive difficulties. This may include offering guidance on how to educate co- workers about the condition and what it means in practice for the individual’s role in an organization. Alternatively, support may be needed to facilitate, for example, reduced hours, and part-time working, initially. Standards 1. Ensure support is offered to stroke patients and their family members to enable them to return to work or to other opportunities such as volunteering. 2. Establish a partnership between voluntary organizations and employers to support patients and employers to adapt to patient’s needs. QM