A woman from Torquay has praised her rehabilitation care after she lost almost all of the feeling in her body due to a rare condition. People recovering from life-changing brain conditions and spinal cord injuries, like Kay Rangasmy from Torquay, are now being supported in the new Plym Neuro Rehabilitation Unit.
The specialist facility at Mount Gould Local Care Centre in Plymouth, welcomes inpatients from across Devon and Cornwall to support them in targeted neurological rehabilitation under the guidance of therapy teams from Livewell Southwest. The unit has recently moved from an old ward to a new bespoke facility, which opened in December 2024. It offers enhanced facilities which are designed to support the personal rehabilitation goals of service users.
Kay was one of the first patients to transfer from the old site to the new unit. She lost all movement from the neck down due to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that affects the nerves.
The former cook said: “Within a matter of days, life just changed because everything just stopped. I had been feeling ill for weeks and then my legs gave away and that is when I really started to panic. It was slowly going up my body and that is the nature of the illness that I have got which is Guillain-Barré syndrome.”
She was rushed to Torbay Hospital before being transferred to the former Plym Neuro site in August 2024 where she received specialist support for her condition. Occupational Therapist Gemma Howard recalls: “When Kay arrived on the ward, she had almost no movement at all in either of her upper or lower limbs and was relying entirely on other people to do absolutely everything for her.
“She has worked really hard in her rehabilitation journey to get to the point that she is now. She needs some support for her mobility when she is standing, but functionally she is really doing very, very well. It is a huge difference.”
Part of the new Plym Neuro Rehabilitation Unit
Gemma worked with Kay on preparing her own meals in the new occupational therapy kitchen: “Not only is it an occupation that Kay likes to do, and she enjoys, we all need to be able to cook for ourselves and it was really important to her that she was able to do that before she goes home. Now we know that she can, and she was able to practice that in our kitchen on the ward.
“I am so proud of her. I feel really lucky to work with patients like Kay, and to see the progress that they make. It is an amazing feeling.”
Kay said: “The new ward is wonderful. It is light, airy and modern with so much room to move around. Getting in the kitchen is bliss. It is my go-to place. The care you get when you are in there is amazing. The team are watching every move you are making to ensure you are not over stretching and then at the end of it, having a meal, which for me as a coeliac, is so good.
“The energy and the effort they put into everything here is unbelievable. They know they are doing a good job, but they don’t realise how good.”
Kay now plans to spend more time with her grandchildren, explore the southwest coastal path and travel to new places around the world. She said: “I just feel like you have got to live your life. You take it for granted it is always going to be the same, and it may not be.”
Kay stayed in one of the seven single en-suite rooms. They provide a greater level of privacy than the old unit and are all equipped with overhead hoisting facilities.
There are also two bays of four-beds for people that may have enhanced care needs. Therapy and treatment spaces feature both standard and wheelchair height kitchen work surfaces.
This aims to enhance the independence of patients during their stay on the unit, ready for when they can return home. There is also a special room for those who are preparing to go home, which is fitted with basic kitchen facilities.
Matron Sally Stephenson said: “Patients benefit from practicing their independent living skills, in addition to the targeted therapy sessions. It can enable patients to prepare their own simple meals or share a meal they have prepared with their family, as they would at home.
“This is a much better environment, made to meet patients’ needs. For clinical teams, we have a great new space with the latest technology, to really help our patients on the next stage of their rehabilitation journey.”
This building project was a collaboration with Community Health Partnerships (CHP), NHS Property Services, Baxendale, ReSound Health and Nevada Construction.