Report exposes poor recovery care for stroke survivors

People who survive a stroke are unable to make the best possible recovery because of poor post-hospital care and a lack of coordination between health and social services, a report claims.

The Stroke Association commissioned a survey of more than 2,200 people affected by stroke to support its report.

It found that 38 per cent of stroke survivors had not received an assessment of their health and social care needs, while fewer than two-fifths of those who were assessed were subsequently given a care plan.

This is despite the fact that the National Stroke Strategy states people should be assessed six weeks after leaving hospital, again after six months and then once a year.

Almost half of those receiving health and social care services said the two were not well coordinated, while one in five said services had been withdrawn despite their needs staying the same.

Jon Barrick, the Stroke Association’s chief executive, said: ‘More people than ever are surviving a stroke and that’s a welcome improvement.

‘But many stroke survivors tell us that after all the effort to save their lives they then feel abandoned when they return home.’

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the government was determined to drive up standards for stroke patients ‘by ensuring, among other things, that patients have a joint care plan prepared for them before they leave hospital’.