​Stroke survivors return to work with help from the Life After Stroke Centre

The Stroke Association and the Heart of Worcestershire College have teamed up to help stroke survivors return to work, with a ten week course at the charity’s Life After Stroke Centre, Bromsgrove.

The Futures Focus employability course with City & Guilds and Ascentis accreditation was the first certified course held at the centre. It supported four stroke survivors over ten weeks to get into work or get themselves into a position to find work in the near future. The participants were awarded their certificates at a presentation in the Life After Stroke Centre on Thursday 27 April.

The course was designed to help people build their confidence, find the best ways of looking and applying for jobs, teach good research and preparation techniques for interviews, and help people work together in groups.

Carl Whitehouse, Learning Skills and Development Officer at Heart of Worcestershire College, delivered the training. He said: “The emphasis of the course is ensuring people feel able to start mixing within the group, as being out of work or experiencing a health condition such as a stroke can lead to isolation. It also helps people develop their functional skills, to help with Maths, English and IT.

“Of the four people who attended our training, one person found a commercially based job, another is in his role as a volunteer receptionist, the third, who had a part-time role felt it helped him cope with the gradual increase in responsibility, and the fourth developed their confidence to carry on with a drama group and take part in productions.”

Christy Weatherby, Life After Stroke Centre Coordinator at the Stroke Association in Bromsgrove, added: “Around a quarter of strokes happen in people of working age. Stroke survivors looking to return back to work face specific challenges, which can be hard to overcome alone. We're thrilled with the outcome of the course and the impact in made on stroke survivors’ lives. Because of its success we’re looking to run the course again later this year at the Life After Stroke Centre.”

Make May Purple for Stroke is back and the Stroke Association is calling on people across Bromsgrove to join thousands of other supporters and go purple to show your support for people who have been affected by stroke.

Across the UK, more than a million people are rebuilding their lives after stroke. By supporting Make May Purple you are can help us to make sure stroke gets the attention it deserves and to raise vital funds for innovative research into stroke care and treatment. To get involved with Make May Purple and help to change the story for stroke survivors, visit www.stroke.org.uk/makemaypurple