A Notice of Motion has been discussed by Carmarthenshire County Council to urge Hywel Dda Health Board to provide reassurance to Stroke Survivors, their families, and careers that there will be no impact on the future delivery of the ‘Life After Stroke Recovery Service’ in Carmarthenshire.
The motion presented by Llanelli Independent (Non-Affiliated) Councillors, Sean Rees and Michael Cranham received unanimous support from all Councillors at the Council’s monthly meeting held on Wednesday 10th May.
County Councillor Sean Rees of Glanymor Ward, Llanelli said:
“Stroke changes the lives of those affected and their carers/families in an instant. It can happen to anyone, of any age, at any time. My family and I sadly know this from personal experience.
There are 9863 stroke survivors living across the Health Board area with 47% of survivors in Hywel Dda living in Carmarthenshire. The
specialised in-person support provided by the Stroke Association will continue to help in reducing hospital re-admissions, facilitating a better integration of care, and retaining survivor independence. It currently costs our NHS £400 extra every night that a stroke patient stays in hospital.
“Stroke survivors tell us that for them what recovery really means is having on the ground practical support for the future to achieve the best possible quality of life which remains.”
County Councillor Michael Cranham of Bigyn Ward, Llanelli added:
“We have met with ‘The Stroke Association’ and share their concerns that the current service level agreement cannot reasonably cover the entire Health Board area which could lead to stroke survivors being seriously affected by the change not to mention the wider impact this could have generally on health and social care. We are not aware of any consultation with survivors, or any equality impact audit being undertaken during this process.
“The ‘Life After Stroke’ service provides tailored support commencing from the hospital setting to the home environment and into the long term to provide survivors with the best possible recovery.
“The question that needs to be asked here is how can Hywel Dda afford to potentially lose such a vital service. It would end up costing a lot more to take it in-house and the problems would not go away. People will still end up somewhere in the system but still crucially needing support.”
