Elysium Neurological National Conference

Clinicians, commissioners and senior professionals from across the neurorehabilitation community gathered together at the British Medical Association House in Tavistock Square, to discuss some of the most pressing conundrums currently facing the sector.

More than 200 delegates listened to presentations from leading thinkers and innovators in neurorehabilitation, and reflected on new perspectives and solutions in working with challenging behaviour and acquired brain injury.

The CPD accredited day saw a packed programme of speakers ranging from Clinical Neuropsychologists and Hospital Directors to NHS commissioners and healthcare tech startups. (Full programme of speakers can be found at the end of the article.)

The day kicked off with a presentation on how to ‘Manage the Unmanageable’, by Professor Nick Alderman (Elysium Neurological), Professor Andrew Worthington (Headwise Ltd) and Paul Mooney (Elysium Neurological).

Setting the broad context for the day, the speakers discussed how behaviour support plans that draw from learning theory can be effectively applied in managing behavioural symptoms of neurobehavioural disability, including challenging behaviour.

This was followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion that featured Dr Jenny Brooks (JB Psychology Services), Dr Martine Stoffels (Elysium Neurological) and Lauren Hurney (Irwin Mitchell) and asked the uncomfortable question of whether neurobehavioural rehabilitation was even possible in the community? 

Panellists reviewed the evidence base, plus the clinical application of neurobehavioural rehabilitation when working with individuals in community settings and discussed a case study that illustrated these issues.

Halfway through the conference we spoke with Nick Alderman, Senior Clinical Director, Head of Psychology & Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist at Elysium Neurological Services and Honorary Professor at Swansea University, who explained the motivation behind the event.

Nick said: “We currently have a situation within neurorehabilitation where after a brain injury, people can present with very challenging behaviour, which limits their autonomy and is a great source of stress for families. There is now a long history of successfully reducing these through application of interventions drawn from applied behaviour analysis, a conceptual framework with origins in new learning theory. 

“These have a compelling and robust evidence base, enabling excellent clinical outcomes that restore hope for people with ABI and increase their autonomy. Despite this, there is reluctance to use these methods in many situations because of lack of training opportunities and other difficulties. 

“So, throughout the conference we are presenting these conundrums, along with a range of clinical papers, giving practical examples of how these challenges in applying these proven ways of working can be overcome, and the response has been absolutely brilliant. All the delegates are very engaged, asking excellent questions and the debate continues beyond the conference hall, which is exactly what we wanted to achieve.”

One of the conundrums identified by Dr Richard Irwin, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, in his insightful presentation, was how to achieve successful outcomes for those with ‘no rehabilitation potential’. Dr Irwin drew upon case examples to prompt discussion on how to work with individuals who have become excluded from rehabilitation and how to support them to achieve their goals.

Fiona Box, Executive Hospital Director, closed the morning session by sharing multiple conundrums experienced by the clinical team at the Moorlands Neurological Centre in launching a newly created neurobehavioural rehabilitation service and how these were successfully tackled.

Throughout the lunch break the debate remained lively with delegates keen to share their professional perspectives with each other. As participants rejoined the conference hall for the afternoon session they were greeted by the beaming smiles of the Headway East London Choir, who delighted the audience with some outstanding tunes prompting fabulous audience participation.

They were a tough act to follow but Clare Jones and Trudi Massey from NHS England did not disappoint, sharing a candid overview of current commissioning challenges in relation to neurobehavioural rehabilitation services for people with ABI. 

Dr Ndidi Boakya (Croydon University Hospital and the Psych Practice Ltd) followed with a compelling presentation asking delegates to consider the perspectives of different identities and cultures in neurorehabilitation, especially when addressing micro aggressions when working with challenging behaviours.

Wrapping up the conference, were health tech startup Decently, and their co-Founders James Burch and James Chapman, who gave an overview of their work and their innovation Melo, also discussing other trends, opportunities and challenges when introducing DHTs into neuro rehab.

Paul Mooney, Clinical Director of Elysium Neurological and Honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham was impressed both by the calibre of the speakers and the thought provoking nature of their presentations.

Paul said: “We’ve had an exciting range of expert speakers, covering diverse topics and some really important themes have emerged from the conference, for example the importance of the social climate, or psycho social environment, how we influence effective team working, and also the importance of the cultural context behind outpatient care, amongst many others.

“It's been fascinating to listen and engage in these topics and I know that the discussions won’t stop here. I hope this conference can be a catalyst for spin off collaborations and deeper exploration.”

Full Programme

Managing the Unmanageable: solving conundrums in behaviour change following acquired brain injury

Nick Alderman, Senior Clinical Director, Head of Psychology & Consultant Clinical

Neuropsychologist, Elysium Neurological Services and Honorary Professor, Swansea University.

Professor Andrew Worthington, Consultant in Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation & Director, Headwise Ltd.

Paul Mooney, Clinical Director, Elysium Neurological & Honorary Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham.

 “Does the cost justify the outcome?” Is neurobehavioural rehabilitation even possible in the community?

Dr Jenny Brooks, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, JB Psychology Services.

Dr Martine Stoffels, Elysium Neurological.

Lauren Hurney, Partner, Irwin Mitchell.

Achieving successful outcomes for those with “no rehabilitation potential”.

Dr Richard Irwin, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist.

Thinking outside the Box: overcoming the challenges of creating neurobehavioural rehabilitation services

Fiona Box, Executive Hospital Director, Moorlands Neurological Centre.

Energiser Session - Headway East London Choir

“Is anybody out there?” Commissioning ABI services to manage challenging behaviour 

Clare Jones, Senior Complex Rehabilitation Case Manager, NHS England – Midlands.

Trudi Massey, Complex Rehabilitation Case Manager, NHS England Specialised Commissioning.

Good Teams Mind their GRRAAACCCEEESSS-Addressing micro aggressions when working with challenging behaviours 

Dr Ndidi Boakye, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, Clinical Psychologist & Couple Therapist, Head of Service for Clinical Health & Neuropsychology, Croydon University Hospital & Director, The Psych Practice Ltd.

“Which Button Do I Press?” Can digital health technology really help manage post-ABI behaviour change? 

James Burch, Co- Founder & James Chapman Co-Founder, Decently.

Get the latest insights, blogs and news from Elysium Neurological over on their EveryExpert thought leadership hub. https://www.elysiumhealthcare.co.uk/neurological/every-expert/