We provide specialist support to people across Dorset whose lives have been changed as a result of a severe brain injury.

Our Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service (ABIRS) carries out assessments and offers a variety of treatments to help people on the road to recovery. These include occupational therapy, psychological support, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy.

We work to help people manage risk and achieve their long-term goals in areas such as day-to-day living, work, education and relationships.  Our staff provide continuity of care from hospital discharge through to rehabilitation at home, with the aim of enabling people to live as independently as possible and improve their quality of life.

People with a confirmed diagnosis of a newly acquired brain injury are usually referred to us by their GP or consultant straight away. If you have hurt your head and have concerns about the health of your brain, it is best to talk to your GP first and discuss if a referral to a brain injury consultant or ABIRS would be helpful for you.

We deliver services in clinics, in patients’ homes or in the community. Please note, however, that we may need to work with individual patients over several months and can take on only a limited number of referrals at a time.

ABIRS resources

On these pages you’ll find a wealth of information to help you or your loved one manage the impacts of a brain injury.

For more information about the service, how it works and the rehabilitation services we can provide, read ABIRS - what we are and what we do.

Our mild head trauma page provides advice for anyone who has not sustained brain damage but who is still having problems after a head injury.

We can also signpost you to a host of useful links/resources.

If you have had a brain injury in the past and would like further support, then you probably find Headway UK very useful.

Locations