A vital ‘Life After Stroke’ support service axed in budget cuts by the Isle of Wight council two years ago is being revived, thanks to a new funding agreement between NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight and the Stroke Association.
When it closed in March 2023, the Stroke Association had helped more than 3,000 stroke survivors on the Island to live their best possible life after stroke, working with them and their families to set and support their recovery goals, and make sure they don’t face the future alone.
Welcomed by stroke survivor
The service is being revived in April, a move welcomed by 74-year-old stroke survivor Chris Messer who had backed the campaign to save it.
The Stroke Association helped Chris and his wife Joeley (both pictured above) with information on his fatigue and headaches after stroke, his diabetes, problems with memory and thinking, as well as practical things such as driving after a stroke and where to go for help with benefits and financial assistance.
Chris, a musician who lives in Winford, said,
“This is marvellous news for anyone on the Island who is unfortunate enough to have a stroke and need support. Someone will be there for them.
“The treatment at I received St Mary’s Hospital in Newport was excellent but once I came home Joeley and I would have had real difficulty coping without the Stroke Association.
“You have a massive stroke, you go through the hospital and then you’re released and you’re on your own and you feel lost. You don’t know what the next step is without the Stroke Association.”
Lasting effects 50% than national average
With its aging population, the number of people living with the lasting effects of stroke on the Island is around 50 per cent higher than the national average.
The reinstatement of the service is part of an agreement which ensures stroke survivors across the whole area covered by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight have access to support from the charity.
The partnership ensures that once survivors have received acute care and rehabilitation, they receive Life After Stroke care supporting their independence, linking them into NHS and other care and assistance they need, and helping to prevent the risk of them having further strokes.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight has agreed to commission the Stroke Association to offer a service across the region from 1st April 2025. This builds on the success of a support service which NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight has already been funding in other areas of Hampshire.
Jopling: Surviving a stroke is start of a long and sometimes lifelong recovery journey
Garry Jopling, the charity’s Service Delivery Led for the Southwest and Channel Islands, said,
“Thanks to the support of the local NHS, more than 3,500 people survive a stroke every year in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but surviving a stroke is just the start of a long and sometimes lifelong recovery journey. Our specialist teams support stroke survivors and their families to find the strength and determination they need to find their way back to life.
“We’re incredibly grateful that despite the extreme financial pressures facing the NHS they are prioritising the need for support. It ends the inequitable situation where stroke survivors in some areas are offered support while in others they’re not.
“We will be talking with local health teams across the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to agree how the service should be tailored to meet the needs of each community in the longer term.”
Ensuring ongoing support
Cheryl Harding-Trestrail, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Head of Programme for Local Care, said,
“NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight recognises the value of supporting stroke survivors and carers and providing the long-term support they may need.
“The Stroke Association support will ensure that once survivors have received acute care and rehabilitation, they receive Life After Stroke care supporting their independence, linking them into NHS and other care and assistance they need, and helping to prevent the risk of them having further strokes.”
News shared by Martin, in his own words. Ed
