Health and care services throughout the UK, including stroke services, are facing huge challenges.
Despite superhuman efforts by healthcare professionals, far too many people aren't getting the stroke support they need for their recovery. Ambulance waiting times have risen and the number of people who have access to timely, specialist stroke treatment and follow-up care has fallen significantly.
The good news is that, with the right investment, stroke can be preventable, treatable, and recoverable. With strong leadership and sustainably funded programmes, the UK Government can save lives and prevent the long-lasting impact stroke has on millions of people and their loved ones.
Ahead of the General Election, we’ll be releasing our manifesto, setting out our position on stroke care and stroke progress. We’ll be talking to the main political parties and calling for political leadership on stroke to help improve access to vital services.
But we need your help to get this message out to political candidates. When stroke survivors speak out, decision makers listen – as your support of our 2022-2023 Saving Brains campaign showed (see below).
But there is still a long way to go to ensure that anyone in the UK who has a stroke can get the treatment they need.
As the election approaches, we’ll be doing all we can to engage with political leaders. Helping them to understand the devastating effects of stroke will be crucial, particularly the impact that the lack of adequate stroke services has on individuals, wider health and care systems, and the broader economy. Join us, and with your help, we can make stroke the priority it needs to be.
Saving Brains campaign success
Thousands of you campaigned with us by signing our open letter to the UK Government, urging them to make 24/7 thrombectomy available to everyone. Thrombectomy is a procedure to remove blood clots from the brain. It can significantly reduce disability and save lives, but many people who could have one miss out because of where they live or when they have their stroke.
Since the campaign, this treatment has become more widely available across England. This has resulted in more thrombectomy centres with longer opening hours and, crucially, more patients receiving this life-changing treatment. This shows that by combining targeted funding and resources with the power of your campaigning, it’s possible for us to make a real difference.
What can you do?
- Register to vote
- Join our campaigns network
- Tell us how you would like to get involved by emailing campaigns@stroke.org.uk
- Read and share our manifesto
Stroke News magazine
This article is featured in the spring 2024 edition of our magazine, Stroke News. Subscribe to our future editions available in print, on audio CD, or via email.