Changes to Life After Stroke Service Survey

This survey is to ensure that your voice is part of the joined-up response for life after stroke, with the aim of providing an accessible and responsive service that is value for money and meets your changing priorities along your stroke journey. 

What is the Life after Stroke Service?  

Personalised life after stroke support is an essential part of the recovery pathway. Life after stroke support is different, yet complementary, to rehabilitation and has a strong emphasis on living well with the effects of stroke; it is about empowering people to take an active part in their own recovery in a way that compliments the way that they want to live their life. 

Life after stroke support includes; 

• personalised care and support planning – this is based on what is most important to a stroke survivor and their support network, including their emotional needs and personal goals. 
• personalised information provision – providing accessible information for self-care and better understanding of how to prevent further strokes. 
• holistic six-month post-stroke review – a dedicated appointment that works with stroke survivors and their carers to assess individual patient progress and needs 4-8 months after hospital admission following a stroke.
• emotional support – offer of local community support in the form of coffee mornings, befriending or other activities that best suit the stroke survivor and their support network. This can lead to increased social connection after a stroke for a stroke survivor as well as carers and family members. 
• secondary prevention information and support – accessible information and personalised guidance that outlines ways to prevent likelihood of further strokes. 
• communication support - enable people to continue to relearn new skills of communication and to rebuild their confidence, which can be badly affected by the loss of their previous communication skills. This complements the clinical speech and language therapy that stroke survivors with aphasia receive. 
• return to work support – supporting stroke survivors going back to work as part of their recovery, rather than the end of their recovery. This could include support around identifying reasonable adjustments and planning for a phased return to work. 
• peer support - support groups are a safe and supportive space to try things again, to learn more about stroke and self-care and to build your confidence as you rebuild your life after stroke. Stroke support groups meet in different ways, some are meeting face to face, others are providing support online.
• access to support for unpaid carers of people who have had a stroke – providing practical and emotional support for carers, which could range from practical financial guidance to befriending with local carers. 

Please share your experiences and views by completing the brief survey.