A WORLD-renowned Ely rehabilitation unit has been sharing its knowledge with visitors from Japan.

The Oliver Zangwill Centre, based at the Princess of Wales Hospital, played host to a group of 21 Japanese healthcare professionals, including speech and occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, students and doctors.

The delegation was interested in the work of the centre, part of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, which runs a pioneering rehabilitation programme for people with brain injury.

Over the course of the two-day event, the delegates heard from Professor Barbara Wilson, who established the centre in 1996, and Professor Jon Evans from Glasgow University who together gave an overview of the history and recent developments in brain injury rehabilitation.

The event was also an opportunity for Oliver Zangwill staff to give presentations and display posters on their recent research and outcomes, including topics such as social communication, emotional adjustment, speech and language therapy and how occupational therapists at the centre can help patients return to work.

Dr Andrew Bateman, neurorehabilitation manager at the Oliver Zangwill Centre, who organised the programme of events, said: “This was a great opportunity to share our knowledge and experience of helping people who have suffered a brain injury.

“Our ambition is to establish great contacts for the future from this trip and one of the delegates has already expressed an interest in taking a sabbatical at the centre in the next few years. We welcome people from all over the world to the Oliver Zangwill Centre and their contributions are so valued.”

The workshops were a great success with the delegates, who reported that the visit had increased their motivation and encouraged them to explore work done at the centre, such as vocational rehabilitation, in their own areas.