Press release -
Royal Mail and Stroke Association delivering better health
The Stroke Association is celebrating reaching a milestone in their charity partnership with the Royal Mail.
In the last year the local charity has delivered health and wellbeing checks to Royal Mail staff throughout Northern Ireland. This week the Stroke Association took the 2000th blood pressure check at Royal Mail’s Lisburn delivery office.
The initiative is part of Royal Mail’s charity partnership with the Stroke Association which supports postal staff to reduce their risk of stroke and raise £2million to provide Life After Stroke grants. Last year more than £31,500 worth of grants were given to stroke survivors and their families in Northern Ireland to help rebuild their lives after stroke.
Every year more than 4000 strokes occur in Northern Ireland and a quarter of all strokes are fatal within a year. There are 35,000 stroke survivors in Northern Ireland. The Stroke Association is Northern Ireland’s only charity solely dedicated to stroke and provides support, information speech and language therapy and grants for local stroke survivors.
Paul Sweeney, Royal Mail General Manager in Northern Ireland said: “We’re delighted to reach this important milestone with the Stroke Association. Through the Know Your Blood Pressure programme, Royal Mail have become more aware of the risk factors for stroke such as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking and have been supported to take steps to reduce their reduce their risk. Our staff are also on course to raise £2million to provide grants to stroke survivors throughout the UK. Both Royal Mail and the Stroke Association play an important role at the heart of local communities and it’s great to see that together we can make a huge difference to so many lives”.
Aibhlin Neeson, Health & Wellbeing Coordinator, Stroke Association added:
“Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of stroke by up to 6 times but too often people don’t realise they have high blood pressure. That’s why our blood pressure checks are so important. We’re really grateful to our partners in Royal Mail for making this initiative such a success”.
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Photo caption
Delivering better health: The Stroke Association is celebrating a big milestone in their charity partnership with Royal Mail. In the last year they’ve delivered 2000 blood pressure checks with Royal Mail staff throughout Northern Ireland including the 2000th blood pressure check at Royal Mail Lisburn delivery office. Royal Mail staff have also been fundraising to raise £2million to provide Life After Stroke grants to stroke survivors and their families throughout the UK. Pictured here are [insert names] The Stroke Association provides information, support and services for people affected by stroke in NI www.stroke.org.uk/NI
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A stroke is a brain attack which happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, caused by a clot or bleeding in the brain. There are around 152,000 strokes in the UK every year and it is one of the largest causes of disability. There are over 1.2 million people in the UK living with the effects of stroke.
Stroke Association is a charity. We believe in life after stroke and together we can conquer stroke. We work directly with stroke survivors and their families and carers, with health and social care professionals and with scientists and researchers. We campaign to improve stroke care and support people to make the best recovery they can. We fund research to develop new treatments and ways of preventing stroke. The Stroke Helpline (0303 303 3100) provides information and support on stroke. More information can be found at www.stroke.org.uk
