Developments in Stroke Services
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Context
The National Service Framework for Older People
has delivered improvement in England.
For example:
Increase in Stroke Units (2004 = 79%, 2006 = 91%)
Acute stroke units (2004 = 34%, 2006 = 50%)
More neurovascular clinics (2004 = 65%, 2006 = 78%)
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Context
The NSF highlighted the need for:
“speech and language therapy for patients with
communication or swallowing difficulties”
in stroke units.
And said:
“Following a stroke, any patient reporting a
significant disability at six months should be reassessed and offered further targeted rehabilitation if
this can help them to recover further function”
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Sentinel Audit results
62% of stroke patients were admitted to a stroke unit
at some point during their stay. But only 54% spent
more than half of their stay in a stroke unit.
Of the 341,343 bed-days captured in the audit,
195,629 (57%) were spent in a stroke unit.
A third of patients with swallowing disorders had not
been assessed by a Speech and Language Therapist
within 72 hours of admission or 7 days for
those with communication deficits.
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Sentinel Audit
Stroke Unit Multidisciplinary team meetings
2002 2004 2006
Team meetings once weekly
82% 96% 100%
Those attending:
Medicine (Senior Doctor)
Nursing
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Speech & Language Therapy
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
81%
84%
82%
83%
63%
93%
96%
95%
96%
74%
98%
100%
99%
100%
83%
Patient Survey 2006
Did you get enough help with difficulties with speaking?
In hospital
4 months after
leaving hospital
12 months after
leaving hospital
50%
43%
43%
To
some
extent 34%
26%
31%
No
31%
26%
Yes
16%
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
View from the Stroke front line
“I know she gets frustrated at not being able to say what
she wants to and although we have our own little system
of signals now she wants to be able to talk to her
grandchildren.
I have been told there was one speech therapist covering
the whole area, and they had been asked to cut back their
hours to just four days a week.”
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
The DH Stroke Strategy
High hopes for the strategy – launched last March
Good involvement from across the “stroke world”
Six working groups have come up with
recommendations covering:
Awareness and prevention of stroke
TIA
Emergency care
Hospital care
Post hospital care
Workforce
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
The DH Stroke Strategy
Strategy consultation document to be published
imminently.
We don’t know to what extent the recommendations
we want to see will be in it.
We don’t know how prescriptive it will be
We believe it needs to be as strong as possible in
order to affect real and rapid change on the ground
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
The DH Stroke Strategy
Whatever the content – we need as many people as
possible to respond to the consultation.
Look on our website. Look on the DH website.
Our views will have much greater weight if they are
amongst hundreds, or even thousands, of responses.
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Guidelines
NICE guidelines for emergency and acute care of TIA
and stroke in development
Next version of the clinical stroke guidelines being
developed by the Inter-collegiate Stroke Working
Party
National Audit Office will be doing a follow up report
before the end of this Parliament
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk
Other work…
The Aphasia Alliance
Stroke Association campaigns on communication
disability
UK Stroke Forum
Stroke helpline
0845 3033 100
Website
www.stroke.org.uk