Early post-stroke rehabilitation facilities in Poland in 2010

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to survey the contemporary facilities of early post-stroke rehabilitation in Poland. RELEVANCE: Growing costs of health care enforced managers to be looking for new organizational solutions of services which could enable as early as possible rehabilitation after disease onset. Early post-stroke rehabilitation consists of many elements of modern strategy of rehabilitation. It realizes the idea of early rehabilitation and its continuation after discharge from stroke unit. PARTICIPANTS: A questionnaire evaluating neuro-rehabilitation of persons who undergo stroke has been designed and distributed to 221 neurological wards and to 154 rehabilitation departments in Poland. METHODS: We were asking about time needed to wait for admission from neurological wards to rehabilitation departments, about the number of sessions per day, time duration of one session, number of sessions per week, average time of stay in department, methods of outcome measures etc. ANALYSIS: Until the end of 2010 we received 129 fulfilled questionnaires of 375, i.e. 35%. We received 78 fulfilled questionnaires from neurological wards and 51 from rehabilitation departments. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent of all patients after stroke were moved from neurological wards to rehabilitation department (15% directly). Fifty-four percent of all patients after stroke in rehabilitation departments were treated early post-stroke, i.e. up to three months after stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account that about 60% of stroke survivals (30 days after onset), the contemporary facilities of early post-stroke rehabilitation in Poland in the year 2010 are not satisfied. IMPLICATIONS: The delivery of post-stroke services should be improved. The Information on benefits of EHSD and implementation of Early Home Rehabilitation post stroke in Poland might help to solve this problem.