Stroke Association response to NHS England’s Five Year Forward View Delivery Plan

Today, NHS England published its Five Year Forward View delivery plan, which sets out how they will deliver their vision for the NHS over the remaining time frame of the 2014 Five Year Forward View within the resources currently available in the NHS.

Commenting on the publication, Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, said:

“We are incredibly disappointed in NHS England’s failure to include more than a passing mention of stroke services in the Five Year Forward View delivery plan. This was a missed opportunity to drive forward much-needed improvements for stroke survivors in England.

“A fleeting mention of the need to reconfigure acute stroke services will not address the significant and persisting lack of follow-up care and long term support for the 1.2 million stroke survivors across the country. This news will be of little comfort to the 45% of stroke survivors who feel abandoned after they leave hospital.

“As of the end of this year, England will have no national approach to delivering improvements in stroke services. In fact, we understand from our conversations with NHS England that the lack of a national plan is one of the reasons stroke has not been prioritised within the delivery plan. Yet the Government is also telling us they do not think a national plan for stroke is needed because it is covered by the Five Year Forward View.

“As a result of this bureaucratic mess, stroke is being quietly deprioritised in local areas. Support services are being cut, and stroke survivors are waiting far too long to receive the vital rehabilitation they need. This lack of national prioritisation is putting stroke survivors’ recoveries at risk.

“Stroke is the UK’s fourth biggest killer and two thirds of stroke survivors leave hospital with a disability. Stroke is one of the biggest challenges of our time, and without the right support in place, the situation will only get worse.

“We need to see serious action from the Government on stroke now – lives and recoveries depend on it.”