Home Page

The Rehabilitation Prescription (RP) is used to document the rehabilitation needs of patients with severe illness or injury and identify how these needs will be addressed.

The RP is started within 3 days of admission to hospital, by a suitably qualified member of the rehabilitation team, and then regularly reviewed by the rehabilitation multidisciplinary team.

The RP covers various aspects of recovery, including:

• A description of the injuries or illness.
• Relevant psycho-social background.
• Treatment to date, along with clinical restrictions.
• An individualised description of rehabilitation needs / recommendations, in enough detail, to inform the future planning and delivery of that person’s on-going rehabilitation.
• Essential data is collected, using standardised data collection tools, to allow audits to be completed and the appropriate commissioning of services.

Patients with complex needs are likely to require a longer period of treatment in the acute hospital and may also have more complex rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation plans for patients with complex needs should be made by a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine or equivalent.

The RP should be reviewed regularly during a patient’s admission and updated with the latest recommendations and advice prior to discharge.

When a patient is discharged or transferred from an acute setting both the receiving service and the patient should both receive a copy of the RP.