Where stroke survivors can find individualised support services

Chris Macey

Director of Advocacy and Patient Support, Irish Heart Foundation

Improvements in hospital services have reduced stroke deaths by 48% in a little over a decade, with cases of severe permanent disability requiring direct discharge to nursing homes also declining sharply.

Despite a rapidly rising stroke rate, more people in Ireland are surviving stroke. Lives are being saved, but the recoveries of many stroke survivors are squandered because of a lack of corresponding investment in vital community services and supports that enable people to live the best lives possible at home.

Stroke services to help navigate challenges

Consequently, there is a widespread sense of abandonment among stroke survivors who must navigate the often significant physical, communication and psychological challenges of their brain injury without professional help.

The Irish Heart Foundation is filling this void through a pathway of practical, social and emotional services that support stroke patients countrywide — available from as soon as they leave the hospital, for as long as they need it.

Services include: nurse-led needs assessments and support calls; emotional and psychological support; cognitive therapy; communication support; peer-to-peer and online supports; social re-integration; self-management support, information and education; helpline; return-to-work programme; art and music therapy; physical activity sessions; long-term support; carers’ support.

In total, the Foundation is supporting around 7,500 patients a year.

Fulfilling health and wellbeing needs

Many survivors call our services their lifeline. They empower participants to take control of their own health and wellbeing, prevent them from having to move into long-term care and remove a major burden from frontline services.

Although stroke results in high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation, just five hospitals nationally provide any level of clinical psychology for stroke patients. For many, their only access to psychological support available is through the Irish Heart Foundation’s Stroke Connect programme.

Over a third of all stroke survivors returning home from hospital nationally are being referred to Irish Heart Foundation services, which also support thousands of heart patients annually. In total, the Foundation is supporting around 7,500 patients a year.