Stroke victims abandoned after they leave hospital as experts attack aftercare

Thousands of stroke victims are abandoned after they are discharged from hospital, according to a damning report.

Experts condemned what they called ‘woeful’ aftercare – with patients often left to fend for themselves despite crippling disabilities.

Nearly half are not contacted by a doctor or nurse when they are discharged from hospital, the Stroke Association says.

Four in ten leave without any sort of care plan. More than a third do not receive the six-month check-up recommended in national guidelines.

Jon Barrick, chief executive of the Stroke Association (left) said the findings paint a ‘woeful picture’. When Grace Russell (right) was 17, she suffered a stroke – and her treatment stopped

The report, based on interviews with 1,200 stroke patients in England, reveals that many are left without the physiotherapy, speech therapy and rehabilitation they need to rebuild their lives.

‘The findings of our survey paint a woeful picture of stroke care across England,’ said Jon Barrick, who is chief executive of the association.

‘Stroke survivors tell us they feel abandoned when they return home.’

Around 150,000 Britons suffer a stroke each year when the blood supply to the brain is cut off either by a clot in a blood vessel or by bleeding in the brain.

A quarter of patients die within a year, and half of the survivors are left with disabilities including paralysis, speech problems and personality change.

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Experts agree that treatment in hospitals has improved significantly in recent years, with advances in the speed of diagnosis, medical interventions, and the physiotherapy and speech training that people receive while still inpatients. 

But once patients leave hospital sites, many are left to their fate.

A similar pattern of aftercare failings persists for heart attack patients, according to a major study published last week.

That investigation, led by the University of Leeds, found that 87 per cent of patients do not receive the correct care in the aftermath of a heart attack – despite strict guidelines telling doctors exactly how to treat their patients.

STUDENT HAD TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR BASIC CARE 

When Grace Russell was just 17, she suffered a devastating stroke.

She was given a 20 per cent chance of survival by surgeons as they removed a third of her skull to stop the bleed on her brain.

After two months of intensive treatment, in which she re-learned how to walk and speak, Grace went home to her family in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

And then the treatment stopped.

‘I had someone to come to my home to see whether it was safe, and that was it,’ said Grace, now 23.

She was offered rehabilitation, but it was in Bath, 125 miles away.

Eventually she secured speech therapy and physiotherapy close to home, but Grace, who now studies business management at Derby University, said she had to fight for it.

‘I’m a lot better now but I’ve had to nag the Health Service constantly to get any care at all,’ said the student, who now lives with her boyfriend.

Grace still suffers from severe back pain and depression, but has never received counselling.

She said: ‘I had to ask and ask and ask, but I have had to learn to manage my depression myself.’

For stroke patients, there are also clear guidelines – set out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – but the new report suggests these are not followed.

Mr Barrick said: ‘Current NICE guidelines state that stroke survivors should have a health and social care plan before they leave hospital – yet 39 per cent of stroke survivors told us that they left hospital without one. 

‘NICE guidelines also state that everyone who is left with a disability after a stroke should be contacted by the stroke specialist rehabilitation team within 72 hours of leaving hospital.

‘But our survey shows that this is not happening.’ 

According to the charity’s report, A New Era for Stroke, 45 per cent of stroke patients said they felt abandoned on leaving hospital, while 27 per cent rated the physiotherapy they received at home as poor. 

Some 49 per cent said they received poor treatment for memory problems, and the same proportion complained of poor support for depression.

The charity is now calling for a major inquiry into stroke care. Professor Helen Rodgers, president of the British Association of Stroke Physicians, backed the demand, saying: ‘Unfortunately, there has been little progress to meet the needs of stroke patients and their families following discharge from hospital.’

Professor Karen Middleton, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, added: ‘Ensuring stroke survivors have speedy and sufficient access to physiotherapy is an essential part of their recovery.’ 

An NHS England spokesman said: ‘Fortunately NHS stroke care and stroke survival are now at record levels, and death rates from stroke are at their lowest levels ever, meaning there is increasing need and more opportunities to support people who’ve been successfully treated when they return home.’

A Department of Health spokesman added: ‘NICE have developed guidelines for social care so that staff and providers have clear standards, and we expect them to be followed.’

There are 1.2million stroke survivors in Britain. Many are expected never to recover their independence.