We need to a build a new era for stroke - Join me to make it happen
Graham Allen
| Stroke Association
Graham Allen MP encourages parliamentarians to hear from stoke survivors and professionals at today's Stroke Association reception being held in the Churchill Room 4-6pm.
My grandfather, my father and I have had strokes. It is a measure of what can be done now that while they died I completely recovered. It is vital that this progress is built upon, not eroded. That is why MPs of all parties are anxious that the National Stroke Strategy for England expires this year and the Government has no plans to renew it despite big problems remaining in stroke treatment and care.
Stroke is a unique condition affecting huge numbers of people – there are 1,990 survivors and their carers living in my constituency, for example. The National Stroke Strategy was launched a decade ago and has done brilliant work in raising standards. But its work is not yet done. Stroke is the leading cause of disability, it kills twice as many women as breast cancer, and more men than prostate and testicular cancers combined. And yet, the Government is about to quietly deprioritise stroke by not renewing the National Stroke Strategy when it expires this year.
England is set to become the only nation in the UK without a national plan for stroke. I’ve written to Jeremy Hunt to ask him to step in. 45% of stroke survivors in England said to the Stroke Association they felt abandoned after leaving hospital and a quarter of stroke survivors are waiting over five months for psychological support. Even six months after their stroke, only three out of ten stroke survivors requiring a review of their needs actually get one. These reviews are simply not commissioned, despite clear guidance. Furthermore, virtually no vocational support is offered to help stroke survivors get back to work nationwide – even though it only requires minimal investment.
The Government says that a little-known document- the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy - and NHS England’s Five Year Forward View will bring about the improvements necessary in stroke once the current strategy expires, but they are not sufficient. Neither of these is specific to stroke and neither is capable of addressing the most serious problem: that of post-acute care and CCGs failing to commission the support stroke survivors so desperately need.
New cutting-edge treatments like thrombectomy (mechanical clot retrieval) can reduce the chance of disability after stroke, potentially saving the state tens of thousands of pounds for each patient over just a few years. A continued National Stroke Strategy could help ensure everyone eligible gets access to the right treatment, not only to those lucky enough to be situated in the right place. In my constituency for example, only 1 in 3 patients receive a brain scan within an hour, way under the national average. This is about giving stroke survivors and their families the support they deserve, but it’s about cold, hard cash too. It makes sense on all levels from the emotional to the financial. For example, the reorganisation of stroke services in London alone has saved the NHS £5.2 million a year. A new strategy could make the changes needed saves the NHS money currently tied up in bed-blocking, social care, and inefficient late interventions.
Each MP represents around 2,000 stroke survivors we owe it to them to take action. 55,000 petitioners and the 19 professional stroke organisations are asking for your help, I for one will be joining them.
I hope colleagues will attend the Stroke Association’s reception today, Churchill Room, 4-6pm to hear from stroke survivors and professionals, and get a personal briefing about the situation in your constituency.
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