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Topics: Medical research

  • Alex's encourages others to share their story to help raise awareness

    Former Grocer, Alex, from Edinburgh, had a massive stroke aged 52. At first, he was unable to sit up or walk, but after months in hospital with intense physiotherapy, he could walk, albeit with difficulty.
    Thankfully, Alex received good support from hospital staff – particularly his physio, but Alex’s wife, Lorraine, was his rock, helping him to adjust to life after stroke. He describes a role

  • Northern Ireland stroke patients “badly let down” by lack of progress on Action Plan 

    Stroke patients in Northern Ireland are being badly let down by continuing delays in creating centres of excellence for stroke care, says the Stroke Association.
    One year on from the launch of the Department of Health’s long-awaited Reshaping Stroke Care Action Plan, there are still no firm plans for the much-needed transformation of stroke services and development of ‘hyperacute stroke units’

  • New figures show too many Scots don’t receive basic level of stroke care

    The UK’s leading stroke charity is deeply concerned by the latest national stroke statistics which tell a distressing story of decline of the most basic levels of hospital stroke care in Scotland.
    The Stroke Association highlights less than two thirds of all stroke patients in the country were admitted to a dedicated stroke unit on time last year, despite stroke being designated as a clinical p

  • Scottish Government's Stroke Improvement Plan

    John Watson, Associate Director Scotland said:
    “We welcome the Scottish Government’s Stroke Improvement Plan (2023) which sets out the commitments Health Boards in Scotland must undertake to ensure equitable and timely access to diagnosis, treatment and care for people with suspected stroke. Stroke is a clinical priority in Scotland, and this ambitious plan reflects the importance of tackling t

  • ‘I’m not daft or drunk!’ Wiltshire stroke survivor calls for more public understanding of aphasia

    A stroke survivor from Warminster is calling for more public understanding of the speech and language condition which affects him and more than 350,000 other people in the UK.
    Mark Docksey, 38, says there are often times when people think he is “either daft or drunk” because they make assumptions about his speech.
    He has aphasia, apraxia and dysphasia, as a result of a stroke in November 20

  • Sisters Success with Edinburgh Half Marathon

    Sisters Samantha Williamson, and Clare Hogarth from Peebles, ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon on 28 May, to increase awareness of stroke and raise funds for the Stroke Association. Their father, Tommy, had a massive stroke last October rendering him unable to walk and talk. After three weeks Tommy could walk, but still struggles with communicating – a condition, also known as aphasia. Tommy was fit

  • Withdrawal of stroke services from Daisy Hill Hospital is extremely worrying

    The unplanned withdrawal of stroke services from Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, Northern Ireland, is extremely worrying.
    Alasdair O’Hara, the Stroke Association’s associate director for Northern Ireland, said: "It’s long been acknowledged that stroke services across Northern Ireland need transformed to improve outcomes for patients and create more sustainable, high-quality services.
    "Yet, d

  • Over half of Welsh people have never heard of aphasia / Nid yw dros hanner pobl Cymru erioed wedi clywed am affasia

    New research from the Stroke Association reveals a huge lack of public awareness and knowledge of aphasia - a language and communication disorder most commonly caused by stroke
    New research from the Stroke Association reveals over half of the Welsh public (57%) have never heard of aphasia*, despite it affecting over 350,000 people in the UK1.
    Aphasia is a language and communication disorder

  • The online café has been a lifesaver for me.

    I had my stroke in September 2015. I was 31 years old at the time.
    Looking back, it was hell. I couldn’t walk, dress or wash myself. I was completely reliant on others.
    Whilst I have recovered physically, I spend time feeling isolated and alone. No-one really understood the enormity of what I had just experienced. My life had changed in an instant, and although I still had friends, it w

  • Local man takes on The Three Peaks with friends

    Cammy McKinnell, 37 from Troon is scaling the three highest peaks in Scotland, England & Wales for charity with eleven of his friends.
    The challenge will take place on Friday 21st Saturday 22nd April, seeing them scale the three highest peaks of Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon) - all within 24 hours! The challenge involves a total hiking distance of 37km (2

  • Stroke Association response to NHSE's Plan to Recover Urgent and Emergency Care Services


    Juliet Bouverie OBE, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association said: “Today’s Recovery Plan comes at a crucial time - our urgent and emergency services are in crisis. Stroke patients regularly wait hours for an ambulance and we’ve seen a devastating deterioration in stroke standards. The Stroke Association has continuously raised concerns that this is putting stroke patients’ lives and recover

  • Campaigners raise alarm over Scotland’s high stroke numbers

    Responding to the latest annual Scottish Stroke Figures, the Stroke Association has expressed concern that people in Scotland are much more likely to have a stroke than those in the rest of the UK.
    The latest data from Public Health Scotland suggests that the incidence rate for stroke (adjusted for age and sex) has decreased by just 2.4% since 2012/13.
    John Watson, Associate Director for the

  • Somerset stroke survivor urges people to check for ‘silent condition’ which can cause serious strokes

    A stroke survivor from Wells is backing a charity’s plea for people to carry out a simple test on themselves in case they have a ‘silent condition’ which could cause a serious stroke.
    The Stroke Association is urging people to mark Stroke Prevention Day on Thursday, 12 January, by checking their own pulse to make sure it’s not irregular.
    Rick Hein’s stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation o

  • Surrey stroke survivor urges people to check for ‘silent condition’ which can cause serious strokes

    A stroke survivor from Hersham is backing a charity’s plea for people to carry out a simple test on themselves in case they have a ‘silent condition’ which could cause a serious stroke.
    Michelle O’Connell’s stroke was caused by atrial fibrillation or ‘AF’, where the heart beats with an irregular rhythm. When this happens, the heart won’t empty all of the blood out of its chambers with every bea

  • Almost two in three people don’t know that an irregular heartbeat is a major cause of / Nid yw bron i ddau o bob tri o bobl yn gwybod bod curiad calon afreolaidd yn un o brif achosion strociau.

    Stroke Association urges people to test themselves for ‘silent’ condition, Atrial Fibrillation
    The Stroke Association and BBC Morning Live’s Dr Punam Krishan are urging people to check for a ‘silent condition’ which is one of the leading causes of serious strokes, after a survey showed that few are aware of the link.
    It is estimated that around half a million people are living with undiagnos

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