Brain injury clients ‘graduate’ at Tate Modern

Rehab UK's vocational rehabilitation programmes assist people to move forward into employment, further education or training after sustaining a brain injury, with more than 7 in 10 on the programme achieving these goals. Its London centre is situated in St Thomas' Street near London Bridge.

"Rehab UK gives an astonishing level of support for many people and their families, at what is possibly the hardest time of their lives," said actress Sophie Thompson – better known as Stella Crawford in EastEnders – who presented many of the awards at the event.

"It is my privilege to be associated with the charity and the vital work that it does."

In the 1970s her father Eric Thompson wrote and narrated the Magic Roundabout series but at the age of 49 he had a stroke which resulted in a devastating brain injury, paralysing him down his right side and leaving him unable to speak or write.

"It's a big day for our clients and all at the London Brain Injury Centre," says Dr David Sollis.

"I would like to congratulate everyone who has graduated today on their fantastic achievements. I would like to pay particular tribute to the family members for the constant support that they provide to our clients, and also to employers, who work closely with the centre in providing people with such fantastic opportunities."

Tony Parsons, from the Southwark-based construction company Habitat For Humanity, addressed the audience regarding his positive experiences of working alongside the charity as an employer which provides work placement opportunities to Rehab UK clients.

Rehab UK was the first organisation in the UK to develop a specific vocational brain injury service. Additional services provided include neuropsychological assessments, occupational psychology assessments, rehabilitation needs assessments, family support and bespoke programmes which can include cognitive retraining and fatigue/pain management.

Its programmes help people to develop a range of skills in numeracy and literacy, stress management, communication, cognitive skills training, vocational profiling, job preparation and job searching.