GM SAT presented at UK Stroke Forum
The work of the GM CLAHRC implementation theme was showcased at the prestigious UK Stroke Forum Conference held at Harrogate International Centre. Once again, this year’s conference featured a dedicated CLAHRC ‘Evidence to Practice’ session where CLAHRC’s nationally were given the chance to present their latest work.
Katy Rothwell, Knowledge and Transfer Associate, for GM CLAHRC, and Gill Pearl, Chief Executive of Speakeasy, delivered a joint presentation entitled ‘Patients as Partners: Developing the Easy Access Toolkit. They described the work that the GM CLAHRC undertook in collaboration with stroke survivors from Speakeasy, a communication support charity based in Bury, to make post-stroke reviews accessible for patient with communication difficulties.
The Easy Access Toolkit is a version of the Greater Manchester Stroke Assessment Tool (GM-SAT) suitable for people who have aphasia after a stroke, a language disorder where people may have difficulties understanding or using spoken and/or written language. Members of Speakeasy helped to re-design GM-SAT so that it could be understood by people who have aphasia and to provide both them and healthcare staff with the tools they need to communicate effectively during a six month review. The Toolkit provides a whole host of resources that can be used to support a conversation with someone with aphasia.
The UK Stroke Forum first took place in 2006 and is now the largest multidisciplinary stroke conference in the UK. It aims to provide a forum for stroke clinicians and researchers to meet and share ideas, promote multidisciplinary research and provide a unified voice for more statutory sector funding for stroke research.
Date Published: 11/12/2012