The teams at Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre in Bristol, part of Active Care Group, are proud to be recognised for their dedication to patient experience with an outstanding rating in their accreditation with Headway, the nationwide brain injury association.

Feedback from patients and their families has been overwhelmingly positive, with one patient describing the service as “fantastic” and praising the staff’s approachability and motivation.

Suzanne Moss, the Hospital Director at Frenchay, expressed her pride in the teams’ achievement, saying:

“At Frenchay, we are delighted to have sustained our outstanding rating through our accreditation with Headway.

"This demonstrates our ongoing determination and hard work, day in and day out, at Frenchay by the staff and for the benefit of our patients.

"Sustaining our outstanding rating is a testament to the power of perseverance, and it’s an honour to share it with our colleagues and stand side by side.

"As a strong team across all disciplines and departments at Frenchay, with our drive to continually improve our service and patient care, we never waver, and every day do that little bit more to achieve exceptional patient care and experience.”

This latest prestigious rating underscores Frenchay’s high standards of care and our team’s commitment to excellence in neurorehabilitation and patient care.

As well as awarding Frenchay with an overall grade of outstanding across culture, systems and processes, workforce development, service delivery, governance, and environment; the Headway report highlights several key initiatives and improvements at Frenchay.

These include enhanced collaboration between therapy and nursing teams, a flexible and adaptable patients’ timetable, the introduction of an activities coordinator, and the creation of a café to help patients practice higher executive functioning and financial skills.

Additionally, they have successfully attracted 11 new staff members to further strengthen their team.

Frenchay recently celebrated the opening of their new Fig Tree Café, providing patients, visitors, and staff an inviting space to enjoy delicious refreshments at the centre.

The café's opening was made even more special with a patient at the centre having the honour of cutting the ribbon.

Prior to the Fig Tree Café, there was no dedicated area for the team, patients, and family members to enjoy healthy and freshly made snacks and meals.

The new café solves this by repurposing the old dining room into an attractive café setting — made possible thanks to funding from the ‘Glamour Your Manor’ award, which the team at Frenchay received last year from Active Care Group, as part of refurbishment works that are currently underway across the group.

Patients and activities coordinators worked together to choose the name "Fig Tree Café", they will be starting new “café groups” where patients can assist in selling cakes, treats, and other items to other patients and family members. More ideas will soon be put into action, to continue enhancing the Fig Tree Café experience. 

Each day, various lunch options will be made available for the team, patients, and family members, and, thanks to the fantastic new coffee machine, everyone at Frenchay can enjoy delicious hot drinks together. 

To find out more about Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre, please visit https://activecaregroup.co.uk/location/frenchay-rehabilitation-centre