Medical nutrition therapy for adults with:
*Brain Injuries / Cerebral Palsy
*Spinal Cord Injuries
*Orthopaedic Injuries
*Taste and/or smell loss
We offer both home visits and video appointments nationwide.
Why is nutrition important after a catastrophic injury?
This 3 minute video explains everything you need to know.
How can we help?
When to refer
Do your clients have any of the following?
- excess weight gain following a major trauma;
- poor appetite or excess weight loss which someone is struggling to correct;
- pressure sores or slow healing wounds;
- gut-related symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, IBS or abdominal pain;
- dysphagia and/or advised to have a texture-modified diets (we work with the Speech and Language Therapist);
- fatigue (to rule out medical factors which may be contributing);
- taste and smell loss (when eating is no longer enjoyable);
- non-union of an orthopaedic injury;
- diabetes, coeliac disease or another chronic health condition;
- muscle loss which someone is trying to rebuild;
- poor eating habits which are not meeting their nutritional requirements.
Services offered
- Home visits and video appointments are available nationwide.
- Holistic initial assessments address the reason for referral and screen clients for other nutrition-related concerns. Reports are submitted within 3 weeks of the assessment.
- Review appointments are offered every 2-4 weeks.
- Written action plans and/or meal ideas are provided to clients after every appointment.
- A diet analysis is completed after the initial assessment and every three months after that, to make sure nutritional needs are being met.
- We liaise with the GP as appropriate and refer for private blood tests and/or gastroenterology input as required.
- We liaise with, and work in collaboration with, other health professionals on the team, including neuropsychologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
- Training of support staff is available, addressing why nutrition is important, why documentation around food intake/weight/bowel function is so critical, taste and smell loss compensation strategies that increase eating pleasure and/or the best management of type 2 diabetes.
Nutrition & catastrophic injuries
What's the connection?
Adequate nutrition and hydration helps make rehabilitation more cost effective by supporting clients to get the most out of all of their therapeutic input. Just like an athlete needs a steady supply of nutritious food for his/her body to function at its peak, so do clients after a catastrophic injury. Dehydration, deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals and/or gut problems such as constipation, are all quite common in clients after a catastrophic injury and can make fatigue, “brain fog” and spasticity worse. You want to make sure these basics are covered before seeking out more expensive therapies and pharmaceuticals to solve the problem.
Dietetic assessment reports include information on the following:
- Anthropometrics (eg. weight, height, BMI, waist circumference).
- Biochemistry (eg. recent blood test results)
- Clinical information (eg. medical history, medication).
- Dietary information (eg. whether nutrient needs are being met).
- Skin integrity (eg. wounds, pressure sores)
- Bowel health (eg. constipation, diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome)
- Dysphagia/swallowing issues
- Nausea/vomiting
- Oral health issues (eg. oral thrush; dentures which don’t fit)
Client appointments are available as:
- Home visits
- Video-conferencing appointments are the most cost effective option when appropriate.
Case Study #1
A client who has been under an NHS dietitian for several years continues to be underweight in spite of being prescribed several oral nutrition supplements and being reviewed every 3 months. His diet is quite limited due to oral sensory issues and an erratic sleep patterns meaning meals and nutrition supplements often get missed.
- Solution: I worked with the neuropsychologist to implement a sleep schedule, trialed the client on alternative nutrition supplements, trained support workers on the importance of healthy food and the need for nutrition supplements to be given consistently like medication, and worked with the client and support workers to increase the variety of foods offered.
Case study #2
A care home requests support from a dietitian when a resident with a brain injury is on multiple daily laxatives and has chronic diarrhoea. The diarrhoea is preventing him from using hydrotherapy and affecting his ability to access the community, while the associated abdominal distension and bloating are contributing to agitation levels.
- Solution: I worked with the GP to switch laxatives to PRN and change the type of laxatives prescribed; worked with the care home staff to implement a low FODMAP diet specifically for someone with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and developed accompanying menus, recipes and lists with what foods the staff were allowed to give him.
Case study #3
A client with type 2 diabetes is steadily increasing in weight. It is unknown whether she has capacity to understand the consequences of her food choices so the support workers just let her choose whatever she wants to eat at mealtimes. Soon she will require a bariatric wheelchair and two support workers for transfers instead of one. Her positioning in her moulded wheelchair is currently compromised because of her weight and she is at higher risk of developing pressure sores.
- Solution: I conduct a capacity assessment, trained staff on type 2 diabetes, developed a plan with meal and snack ideas, and ensured her diet was meeting her nutrient requirements to preserve skin integrity.
Meet the team
Sheri Taylor, director and specialist rehab dietitian
Director & Dietitian
25+ years experience
Sheri set up Specialist Nutrition Rehab in 2016, to help people with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and orthopaedic injuries maximise their health while eating foods that they love. Sheri has over 25 years of community-based experience working as a dietitian in the UK and Canada, and has helped hundreds of clients achieve their goals. Sheri tries to make sure that all of the advice she gives is as helpful and practical as possible. She has even eaten pureed food and thickened fluid — all so that she could really understand her client’s perspective and the little changes required to improve someone’s quality of life around food and eating.
Sheri is based in Birmingham and offers home visits in the West Midlands plus video appointments nationwide.
Natalie Biedermann, executive assistant
Executive Assistant
Natalie is the first person you will speak to when you contact Specialist Nutrition Rehab. Her positive and bubbly personality will put you at ease instantly. Natalie has extensive experience working as a medical secretary and she joined the team in 2022. Natalie arranges appointments, liaises with case managers, sends our invoices/letters and keeps the entire team functioning at optimal levels.
Nevine El-Sherbini, remote business manager
Business manager
Nevine has a strong background in business management as it applies to nutrition and dietetic companies. Nevine makes sure that all systems and processes are in place so that Specialist Nutrition Rehab operates smoothly. She also managing to globetrot around the world at the same time!
The Specialist Nutrition Rehab team work in partnership with:
- Speech and Language Therapists – to conduct capacity assessments and implement texture-modified diets or tube feeding where appropriate;
- Physiotherapists – to ensure a client’s food intake matches their energy expenditure (eg. from spasticity or physical activity);
- Neuropsychologists – if erratic sleep patterns and/or behavioural issues are affecting a client’s food intake;
- the GP or consultant – regarding blood test results, medication (eg. for constipation) and prescriptions for oral nutrition supplements; and
- Occupational Therapists – around nutritious meal preparation, food shopping and eating out.
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Client Feedback
What people are saying
I have recently started working with Sheri and she oversees the nutrition plan for my client. This client does not enjoy food due to oral motor hypersensitivity and he needs his support staff to fully understand how to prepare his meals and what type of meals to prepare. Good nutrition is vital to ensure he has good skin condition as a wheelchair user and he needs the “fuel” to enjoy his busy daily schedule. Sheri has ensured the staff are monitoring his food intake, his weight and BMI. She ensures the care plan covers nutritional advice and provides training for the support team. A really excellent service and he is steadily gaining weight.
Ali McNamara – Director/Case Manager
I have been working with Sheri since 2016. She has a very functional client centred approach to managing nutrition and the complications around diet that can follow a brain injury.
She has taken the time to personally understand what it is like to eat a modified diet and from her own experiences has looked carefully into ways in which clients can maintain nutritional goals whilst having as ‘normal ‘ a diet as possible. Her supplement shakes have been a great hit with my clients.
Sheri has certainly increased my knowledge around the impact of brain injury on nutrition and the impact of nutrition on brain injury. I would have no hesitation in recommending Sheri.
Jo Frost – Director & Speech and Language Therapist
Sheri uses a client focussed and dynamic approach to working with complex clients with acquired brain injury.
Through this approach she is able to engage clients and their support teams to help them achieve the best possible outcomes.
Laura Pell – Case Manager
It is always a pleasure to work with Sheri. She has a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise in her field, which she is happy to share with others. She is a great communicator and a very polished presenter and trainer. Sheri’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious as is her commitment to helping her clients rediscover the joy of food and eating after a serious injury.
John Davis – Consultant/Solicitor
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