About us

At the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, we recognised there was a need for a support service after discharge for Subarachnoid Haemorrhage patients and their families 6 years ago (2013).

We sent out a questionnaire to approximately 40 patients, the feedback referred to the lack of information available on discharge, and no one to contact when at home. Many patients wanted to talk to others who had similar experiences; this is where the idea came from.

This prompted a business plan to get money together for stamps and we started sending out invites to our very first focus group, tailored for patients and families following a SAH.

We booked a room, made a cake and the rest is history!

At the first group meeting, we had 8-10 people attend. Currently, we have an average of over 25 people attending each time. The meetings are held every 4 months and there is always tea and cake available. Our focus group is a free service for all SAH patients and their families.

Each year we audit the need for the meetings; and each year the feedback supports the value of the group. The focus group aims to provide all attendees with a relaxed atmosphere, where they have the opportunity to meet those with a similar diagnosis. It is a forum to be able to share coping strategies and stories. This is a really recommended stage of the recovery progress, and can often help to put the mind at rest. At most sessions there are presentations given by professionals about topics most relevant to the group. As always the presenters are available for questions afterwards.

If you know of others who would like to join this group who have had a subarachnoid haemorrhage, please email head2head@ouh.nhs.uk and let us know some details.

At the meetings, any issues highlighted by members are raised at OUH Neurosciences teaching days; in this way we are helping to change and improve the experience of all our patients with this condition.

In the future we hope to run the group monthly and in many other areas. Obviously for this we would need people from those areas to be involved and be willing to set up a satellite group. Due to many patients being out of Oxford area a previous patient and his wife help to set up a Facebook forum for the group, this can be accessed via this website. This way we can keep in touch 24/7 about issues you come across in your recovery.

We would not be where we are today without the kindness of people. A huge thank you to a freelance graphic designer Steph Buncher. She saw our poster on the ward area asking for a new logo design and came to our rescue. The group voted on her designs and chose this beauty. It is with gestures like this we are truly grateful. Thank you.