Contact Information
Oldham Community Stroke Team
The Link Centre, 2nd Floor, 140 Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1DZ Tel - 0161 770 2300 option 3
Email - oldhamcommunitystroke@nca.nhs.uk
Stroke is a medical emergency
If you suspect a new stroke ring 999
If a stroke is confirmed rapid access to care can improve recovery
What is Rehabilitation?
You might find you have problems with movement, communication, thinking or mood.
Adapting to how your life has changed can take time. Coming home from hospital can be the start of this process.
Rehabilitation aims to help you do what is important to you. This might be the same thing as before, or it might be different. You might need to learn new ways of doing things.
Recovery can take a long time. You will continue learning how to manage your condition after our team has stopped working with you.
Your goals and needs will change over time
What's the role of the Community Stroke Team?
We provide therapy and support during the community rehabilitation phase.
Assessment and rehabilitation can be provided in several ways, depending on your situation and priorities, either by telephone, video call, in your home, in a clinic, at your workplace or in the community.
We are part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and are a free service.
What will happen?
We will:
- Provide you and your family with information about stroke
- Find out what matters to you
- Set goals with you which will be reviewed on a regular basis
- Provide therapy to work towards your goals and review your progress
- Develop a self-care and self-management plan with you to help you to live a fulfilling life
What do you need to do?
- Take control and take part - Tell us what you want from us.
- Make sure you attend your appointments. If you fail to attend two appointments, we will discharge you.
- Please, where possible, give us 24 hours notice if you need to cancel your appointment.
- Please don’t smoke when we visit. Keep our staff safe.
- Please keep your pets safely in another room, where possible.
- Please keep distractions to a minimum during therapy sessions, for example, phones, family members and children.
Who is in the Stroke Team?
Occupational Therapist (OT)
Name:
Looks at your everyday activities and helps to find solutions to any problems you may have. This could include learning a new way to conduct the activity or using equipment to help you.
Physiotherapist
Name:
Provides therapy and support for physical problems after stroke such as walking, using stairs, balance, or use of your arm.
Speech & Language Therapist (SLT):
Name:
Provides therapy and support if you have difficulty swallowing or communication problems (speaking, understanding, reading, or writing)
Stroke Nurse Specialist:
Name:
Can explain what a stroke is, how to reduce risk of further strokes and answer questions. May check medications and blood pressure.
Can discuss sensitive issues like continence, mood changes and relationships after stroke.
You can also discuss any medical issues or queries regarding your medications with your GP or at your follow-up appointment with your stroke consultant.
Clinical Psychologist:
Name:
Helps to think about your emotional wellbeing and coping skills and identify ways to manage difficult feelings or emotions after your stroke. May also look at thinking abilities (such as attention or memory) to help identify strategies to manage these.
Therapy Assistant (TA):
Name:
Helps to conduct therapy programmes set by therapists.
Team Administrator:
A friendly first port of call if you need to ring the team, the first person to make contact after you are referred to us, and the best person to get a message to us if you need to.
Driving Advice
If you have a licence to drive a car or motorcycle you are not allowed to drive for at least one month after a stroke.
If you still have stroke symptoms which affect your ability to drive after one month, you will need to inform the DVLA.
Our Occupational Therapist may carry out some assessments to see if you have recovered enough to start driving again or may refer you for an on-road assessment. You will need to inform your GP if you plan to return to driving.
Sharing your information
Community Stroke Services in Oldham are provided by our Trust and Stroke Association as a shared service.
To provide coordinated care we may need to share relevant information about you with Stroke Association and other organisations such as your GP or Oldham Council. You can discuss this at any time with any member of the team.
Stroke Association
Telephone 0161 696 3646
The website includes written guides and videos relating to stroke covering topics such as driving after stroke, nutrition, communication, vision, cognition, fatigue and many more.
You can also access Stroke Association support, additional information or join the online community.
Supporting your Mental Wellbeing
- Following a stroke, you may notice changes to your mood
- You may notice worries
- You can talk to your therapy team, and they can help you think about the support you may need
- They may refer you to the Stroke Psychologist or discuss another service which may be more helpful to your needs
- Some people can experience thoughts to harm themselves or others
- There are specific services that can help you in these circumstances
- It is important you discuss these thoughts with your therapy team to get you the right help at the time
Who to contact?
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust has a crisis mental health helpline to support people of all ages in Oldham.
Freephone 0800 014 9995.
If there is an immediate risk of danger to life, you should ring 999.
Useful Contacts
Citizens Advice Bureau - 0161 620 9317
Fairfield General Hospital (switchboard) - 0161 624 0420
General Speech and Language Therapy Team - 0161 770 2300 press option 5
Community Occupational Therapy Team (COTT) - 0161 770 2300 press option 6
Link Centre - 0161 770 4786
Ring and Ride - to book journeys - 0845 688 3989 (8am - 4pm)
Ring and Ride - general enquiries - 0845 688 4933 (8am - 10.30pm)
Millbrook Equipment - delivery/collections, repairs (including wheelchairs) - 0161 344 0482
Social Services (Day care, home care, carer support) Tel: 0161 770 7777
Wheelchair Centre (Tameside) - 0161 509 0900
Continence Team - 0161 621 7104
District Nursing - 0161 357 5190
Regional Driving Assessment Centre - 0300 300 2240
PALS - Patient Advice and Liaison Service - 0161 778 5665
Useful Websites
Stroke for Carers - www.stroke4carers.org
Aphasia Alliance - www.aphasiaalliance.org
DVLA (driving after stroke) - www.gov.uk/stroke-and-driving
Friends and Family Questionnaire
As part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, we are committed to improving our service. An integral part of this process is listening to you.
Please scan the QR code using a mobile phone camera or enter the website address to provide feedback about Oldham Community Stroke Team following your experience today.
You can do this yourself or ask a family member/carer to send your feedback.
www.connection.solutions.iqvia.com/OCQ/u/NCA167141
We encourage you to provide feedback on your experiences at any time during your treatment with Oldham Community Stroke Team.
You can provide feedback on as many occasions as you wish to.
We hope your experience with the team is a positive one and has benefitted you. If this is not the case you can speak to any member of the team initially, or contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
PALS is a confidential service that provides help, advice and information for patients, families and carers.
PALS contact details:
Tel: 0161 778 5665
Email: pals@nca.nhs.uk
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of discussions with the PALS officer, you can contact the Complaints Service to make a formal complaint.
The Northern Care Alliance is committed to providing a service which is patient centred and delivers excellent care. Unfortunately, sometimes things can go wrong with your care, and on these occasions, we welcome your suggestions on how we can improve services and provide care which better reflects your needs. The NCA will not discriminate against any individual as a result of making a complaint.
Complaints Service contact details:
Tel: 0161 656 1141
Email: office.complaints@nca.nhs.uk
Date of Review: May 2024
Date of Next Review: May 2026
Ref No: PI_M_1860 (Oldham)