Defining foundations for care
Sitting in the heart of Gloucester, our specialist brain injury rehabilitation care home, London Road, has carved a truly unique path for people who have suffered brain injuries. Offering long-term care and support, our team have been inspired to nurture a close-knit community within their home. Built on a foundation of dignity, respect, and inclusion, they ensure each person we support has opportunities to get involved, express their opinions, and be active members of the household. Reinforced by a rich sense of family values, London Road champions strengths and abilities, positively widening the boundaries of what is possible following a brain injury.
Led by Service Manager Liz Stokes, each member of our support team understands and recognises the importance of independence after brain injury. For Liz, recognising abilities and possibilities are essential to creating person-centred support plans and ensuring someone leads the life they choose. Centring her approach around empathy and a strong sense of responsibility, she inspires our support team to continuously achieve more with the people we support. Empowering self-expression and decision making, she ensures both colleagues and the people we support are active, valued members of the home.
A positive presence
In her role as Service Manager, Liz continuously seeks opportunities to learn, reflect, and grow. Whatever each day brings, she ensures everything she does supports the individual needs and wishes of the people we support. Through this, she empowers them to live with independence and in a way that’s meaningful to them. And she ensures she’s an active participant in creating fulfilling lives. Whether she’s helping the people we support to action essential routine tasks, performing operational duties, or joining in with activities, she’s a visible and positive presence for the people we support.
Through her warm personality and broad experience, Liz has nurtured an environment where the people we support are comfortable living and our colleagues are happy working. Understanding the impact relationships have on someone’s rehab journey, Liz ensures everyone feels cared for and involved.
Delivering family style care in a peaceful environment, everyone has opportunities to build important bonds with each other. This includes personal family involvement. From working with children to raising her own, Liz understands the role family plays in growth and development at any stage of life. And if family isn’t present in someone’s life, she ensures our team offers that support, so everyone feels loved and valued.
“At London Road, we treat everyone like a member of an extended family. We think about what we’d want for our loved ones if they suddenly needed support, and we weave that into everything we do. Most importantly, we involve the people we support in every decision – from how the home is decorated to what activities they wish to pursue. Their voices are heard and their wishes understood.”
Liz Stokes, Service Manager, London Road
Specialist support and targeted training
Life after brain injury can change drastically, creating various visible and non-visible needs. So, when Liz and our team are expecting a new housemate, appropriate training is completed before they move in, so their needs are fulfilled from the moment they arrive. Alongside robust, clinically guided training, Liz ensures our team’s support is reinforced by specialist neurological therapy clinicians. Collaborating as a multi-disciplinary team, Liz engages the people we support with Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Neuro-music Therapy. Through these targeted therapies, the people we support are empowered to develop their skills and support evolving and changing needs.
Outside scheduled therapy sessions, Liz works with our support team to ensure routine activities support therapy delivery through functional, everyday activities. And adding an element of fun is key. When Liz introduced a fortnightly fitness session, she knew it would have big health benefits for the people we support. But she didn’t anticipate exactly how much joy it would bring them.
An adapted, accessible exercise class, everyone in the home can get involved. It encourages them to take regular, gentle exercise with routines focused on supporting people with limited or impaired mobility. The people we support at London Road gather in the communal living area.
Their specially trained instructor demonstrates how to exercise while safely seated in chairs. Our housemates choose the music they want to exercise to and it’s something everyone looks forward to.
Through thoughtful activities, Liz has brought joy to the lives of the people we support. Every day, she brings them reasons to be optimistic and opportunities to develop. Whether that’s their physical health, emotional wellbeing, or independent living skills, their progress is always held firmly at the heart of Liz’s support.
Empowering expression
London Road is proudly accredited by Headway under their Approved Provider Scheme. As the UK’s leading brain injury provider, this offers important opportunities for our team to receive additional training and governance. It also opens opportunities for the people we support to go to their local Headway centre and socialise with their peers and engage with different activities.
Peer engagement is important to Liz. Understanding the benefits of social interactions, she carves opportunities for the people we support to collaborate and make decisions together. Since adopting her managerial role, Liz has supported London Road’s housemates to hold monthly house meetings. They discuss various topics, including what activities they’d like to do, what meals they’d like on the menu, and what changes they would like to see in their home. They also discuss what they would like to do for calendar holidays, like Christmas, and other religious occasions that they celebrate.
For those who can’t communicate verbally, Liz and our team seek alternative ways for them to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. One person we support uses an eye gaze device, tracking words through eye movements. This has empowered him to express himself and contribute to household meetings. By seeking innovative solutions, Liz ensures each person is empowered to be themselves, collaborate with others, and achieve incredible outcomes.
Pushing boundaries
At London Road, Liz ensures each person has a voice and can make their own decisions. Their individual opinions and perspectives are encouraged. Our team ensures each person has space to share their thoughts and feelings. Demonstrating respect and dignity each day, Liz empowers our team and the people we support to embrace each other as extended family. Through open, honest, and authentic communication, they have trusting relationships that have helped them establish shared values. For Liz and our team, this has led to lots of special achievements with the people we support. Through more effective communication, the people we support can collaborate with each other and their support team, so they can reach personal goals. With this approach, everyone feels safe to be themselves, valued for who they are, and included on the home’s journey.
From cooking their own meals, attending activities in the community to proactively expressing their opinions, everyone at London Road is embraced as an individual.
Looking beyond needs and conditions, their freedom to express themselves has empowered increased confidence and influenced a calm, shared environment where everyone is understood. This positive, unified approach has helped the people we support to gently push the boundaries of what is possible after brain injury and live happy, positive lives.
Learn more
Discover more about our specialist support at London Road on our dedicated webpage.
Here you can read the latest news, blog posts and views from our staff, the people we support and their families at our services across the UK.
