5501V - Views of Hospital Staff on Stroke Rehabilitation Wards on the Impacts of COVID-19 Visitor Restrictions

This study aimed to determine the views of hospital staff including speech-language pathologists on the impact of COVID-19 visitor restrictions on patients or staff. An online survey included 24 hospital staff on stroke wards (including 7 speech-language pathologists, SLPs) and four follow-up interviews analysed for content themes. Participants reported several negative impacts of visitor restrictions on patients with stroke, particularly upon patients’ social interaction, mental health and mood, safety, and rehabilitation progress. Although patients demonstrated distress and loneliness, staff lacked the time and resources to address this, impacting on patient wellbeing and healthcare decisions. In this paper we present and discuss the findings of the descriptive and content analysis with implications for stroke rehabilitation.