Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program
Chair: Adeline Hodgkinson
The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program of New South Wales was established as a joint initiative between NSW Health and the Motor Accidents Authority (MAA) in 1989.
In NSW there are approximately 114,735 people who currently have a brain injury. Over 1,000 people each year sustain a traumatic brain injury and experience long-term disability.
Causes of traumatic brain injuries include external events such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults, sporting accidents or blows to the head. Non-traumatic brain injury is caused by internal events such as a stroke, lack of oxygen to the brain resulting from ruptured or blocked blood vessels in the brain, brain tumours, poisoning or infections - eg meningitis.
The needs of patients with brain injury are complex and not quickly resolved. Multi-disciplinary teams are needed to provide long term therapy. Team members collaborate closely to ensure care is focused and integrated. Most units provide therapy and supportive counselling for patients and their families to help them rebuild their lives.
Highly specialised adult in-patient care is provided at the following major centres:
- Royal Rehabilitation Centre
- Westmead Hospital
- Liverpool Hospital
Paediatric in-patient services are provided at:
- Westmead Children's Hospital - Westmead
- Sydney Children's hospital - Randwick
The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Directorate was established with funding enhancements by the GMTT to implement the GMSIG report. The Directorate supports clinicians working with patients suffering brain injury, to develop best practice guidelines for treatment, to review and analyse statistics and provide direction for brain injury education, research and prevention programs.