Following a recent visit to Buckley Stroke Group, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has today told the First Minister about some of the issues raised with him by Stroke Survivors and asked how he will ensure they, and all other Stroke Survivors in Wales, are involved in the planning of future Stroke services.
Speaking in this afternoon’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood listed some of the various issues Stroke Survivors in North Wales are facing, and stressed that with the number of Stroke Survivors expected to rapidly increase over the next 20 years, action must be taken to address them.
He said:
“Earlier this month, I visited Buckley Stroke Group, with the Stroke Association, to learn about their experience of Stroke in Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire. There are currently over 70,000 Stroke Survivors in Wales, and the number is expected to increase by 50 per cent over the next 20 years. I was reminded of the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme Data showing that the time between a Stroke patient starting to experience symptoms, to when they arrive at hospital, averages four hours, eight minutes in England, six hours, five minutes in Wales, and nine hours, 23 minutes at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
“Issues raised with me by Stroke Survivors included lack of joined-up care, although professionals were kind and caring; having a Stroke in England, but not being told what was available when they returned to Wales; trouble getting through to GPs; not being told what happens to you when you have a Stroke; and, when asking their GP if they can see a Stroke Specialist, being told 'Get me a name, and I will refer you’.
“With the Stroke Programme Board planning engagement on the future of Stroke Services, how will you ensure that the voices of Stroke Survivors and Carers are heard and involved in the co-production of this work?”
In his response, the First Minister said:
“I think we're very lucky in Wales to have such a powerful partnership and a powerful partner in the Stroke Association. And I heard what the Member said about the Stroke Association being part of his visit in Buckley.
“In the list of issues to which Mark Isherwood referred, there were a number of them that seemed to be amenable to solution very easily, simply by making sure that that lived experience is conveyed in the powerful way that the Stroke Association does to people who are responsible for their care.”