Acquired Brain Injury Community Rehabilitation
ABI Community Rehabilitation service provides a specialist service to people with a severe brain injury and their carers from the Victorian community.
Clinical service overview
In addition we provide allied health, nursing and medical staff support and advice to clinicians working with people who have an ABI.
The ABI Community Rehabilitation service offers:
- a home-based service to address treatment goals that can only be met in the person's home environment
- a community-based service to address treatment goals that can only be met in the community
- a centre-based service that includes group and individual based treatment dependent on the need of the person
- other services such as telephone, Skype and Telehealth where appropriate
Eligibility criteria:
- client has an acquired brain injury of non-progressive pathology
- client is 18 years or over
- client or carers needs cannot be met by another community service
- continuity of ABI treatment team is of significance
- client will have potential to benefit from interdisciplinary intervention, by two or more Allied Health disciplines, to improve function, decrease disability, decrease level of care/ caregiver burden
- need for periodic review of high dependency clients in the community to establish a plan of care to prevent complications and/or monitor for potential for rehabilitation
- local service providers request support to transition client to local services through the provision of specialist and expert secondary consultation, education and advice to these services, who may not have ABI expertise.
- must be medically stable and should have a GP willing to provide medical support although a rehabilitation specialist is available through the program
Exclusion criteria:
- referrals that could be managed by another community service
- primary reason for referral is return to work
- receiving other services e.g. Slow to Recover
- medico legal assessment and reporting
- primarily for behavioural management
- referrals for home modifications, equipment prescription, services or case management for clients recently discharged from another service or funding body (e.g. STR)
- requires only medical and/or single Allied Health discipline intervention
Refer your patient
Make a referral
- Email abicommunity&tls@alfred.org.au
- Fax (03) 9076 4841
Special referral instructions
Referral process
1. The ABI Community Referral Form is to be used by health professionals to refer to the ABI Community Rehabilitation Services at Alfred Health. Referrals will be referred directly to the ABI Community Manager or ABI Clinical Lead for review and acceptance.
2. All new referrals will be reviewed weekly in the allocations meeting or the team meeting. The allocation meeting is made up of the Service Manager and Discipline Seniors. The outcome of the review may be:
a) Referral accepted without further review based on the referral alone
b) Additional information from referrers required to determine suitability of the client. When additional information received referral will again be discussed at allocations meeting
c) Accepted for assessment by the ABI Community Rehabilitation Service to determine if client meets the criteria and has goals for rehabilitation that can be met by our team
d) Declined for admission to the ABI Community Rehabilitation Service however team may suggest other services
3. Clients who are not referred by a medical practitioner will require a referral from their GP to enable review by the consultation in the consulting suites