Regional Hyper-acute Rehabilitation Unit (RHRU)

Our RHRU looks after people who have severe complex physical disabilities, often after they have had a stroke or brain injury.

Telephone number: 020 8869 2800 or 020 8869 2801
Location: Fleming ward, Level 6, Ward block, Northwick Park Hospital
Division: Integrated medicine
General manager: Chris Dungca and Raksha Jina

About our RHRU

Our Regional Hyperacute Rehabilitation Unit (RHRU) looks after people who have severe complex physical disabilities, often after they have had a stroke or brain injury.

The unit is a Level 1a complex specialised rehabilitation service which is commissioned by NHS England. It has 24 beds.

We regularly look after patients who come to us from:

  • major trauma centres
  • hyper-acute stroke units
  • neurosciences centres
  • district general hospitals in London and other counties, including Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Berkshire.

If we need to assess you or your relative, you can usually expect to stay with us for four to six weeks.

If we need to support you with complex specialist rehabilitation or highly complex disability management, you can usually expect to stay with us for three months. For specialist rehabilitation, you will need to be able to engage in intensive rehabilitation activities.

Our rehabilitation is based on clinical evidence, with support from our clinical specialists and our active research team.

Conditions cared for by RHRU

Our team assess, treat and rehabilitate people who need specialised inpatient rehabilitation. This might be because you have:

  • had a brain injury
  • had partial spinal cord injuries
  • peripheral neuromuscular disease.

We do provide care for patients who have tracheostomies, and those who are in a low conscious state.

Research at RHRU

Our RHRU is an internationally renowned specialist tertiary rehabilitation service.

We have demonstrated excellence in evidence-based practice, using integrated care pathways for spasticity, mood and shoulder pain, and in assessing and managing prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC).

Led by consultants in rehabilitation medicine, we have an active programme of clinically applied research supported by our mutidisciplinary team. We have published more than one hundred research articles and publications in partnership with King’s College London.

RHRU referrals at Northwick Park Hospital

We accept referals from:

  • major trauma centres
  • hyper-acute stroke units
  • neurosciences centres
  • district general hospitals in London
  • district general hospitals in the east and south of the UK (Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Berkshire)

If you are referring to us from London, please use Badgernet to submit your referral.

If you are referring to us from outside London, please email your referral to the RHRU team.