Welsh limb centres offer online support for life after amputation

People adjusting to life after an amputation are being offered a nine-session online support programme developed by the teams behind Wales’s three prosthetic centres.

Navigating Life After Amputation was devised by Morriston Hospital’s Artificial Limb and Appliance Service with colleagues at Cardiff and Vale and Betsi Cadwaladr health boards. Those partners operate the other centres in Cardiff and Wrexham.

What the course covers

The programme adds wellbeing and peer support to the rehabilitation people already receive while learning to use a prosthetic limb. It covers personal goals, the rehabilitation process, living with pain and other long-term conditions, and adjustment to a changed sense of identity.

Principal psychologist Dr Rebecca Antwhistle said the teams chose an online format because their services cover large rural areas. The programme is based on acceptance and commitment therapy and includes weekly mindfulness exercises.

What is known about access

Swansea Bay University Health Board describes the course through the experience of an early participant, who reported greater confidence and valued contact with others living with limb loss. That is an individual account, rather than a published evaluation of how well the programme works for everyone.

The announcement does not give the next course dates, a self-referral form or detailed eligibility criteria. People interested in taking part can ask their existing prosthetic or rehabilitation team about the programme; no open booking route has been confirmed in the announcement.