Stroke Association comment on - "Pandemic caused a plunge in numbers who saw a GP and this year is set to be worse than last"

Charlotte Nicholls, Head of Policy, Stroke Association said:

"In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we saw a rapid move towards telehealth across healthcare. For many stroke survivors, this meant GP appointments, meetings with stroke consultants and rehabilitation therapies being delivered online or over the phone. Our Stroke Recoveries at Risk report found that the majority of stroke survivors who had remote appointments or therapy felt satisfied, telling us it was convenient and a good use of time and resources. Yet not all stroke survivors have had access to remote healthcare, and we know many stroke survivors have gone without rehabilitation and support during the pandemic.

“Whilst remote healthcare has huge potential, it is not suitable for everyone. Some stroke survivors, particularly those with speech and communication difficulties like aphasia, have found online appointments challenging and felt it negatively affected the care they received. It is vital that stroke survivors have choices about how they access services in future, so they can receive the personalised support that best suits them.

“We’re also concerned that some conditions that increase your risk of stroke, like atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) and high blood pressure, may have gone undetected and undiagnosed because of disruption to face-to-face services. We now need concerted efforts to ensure people who might be living with these conditions can access these health checks to help avoid a life-changing stroke. We hope initiatives like blood pressure checks at pharmacies and health MOTs at vaccine sites will help to address this.”

Daily Mail