‘Super-fit’ mother, 45, has stroke but flagship NHS unit can only provide part-time speech therapist

While this is a problem, the real problem goes back to your doctor and stroke hospital doing nothing to prevent the 5 causes of the neuronal cascade of death in the first week, then there would be vastly less dead and damaged neurons and maybe the rehab you are doing would work better. Solve the primary problem and this secondary problem would be less disabling.

‘Super-fit’ mother, 45, has stroke but flagship NHS unit can only provide part-time speech therapist

Chantelle Roberts's son Connor he was told just one speech language therapist covers a whole ward who works part-time

Chantelle Roberts pictured with her brother Jason, who had a stroke when he was 10 (Photo: Connor Roberts)

Claudia Tanner 3 days Tuesday April 9th 2019

In brief

• Chantelle Roberts was left unable to talk and move her right side
• The 45-year-old carer is in a hyper acute stroke unit
• These are intended to reduce deaths and disabilities from condition
• But family say one or two speech therapy sessions a week 'not enough'

“The staff have been really great. It’s not their fault, they are so overstretched”
Connor Roberts

Chantelle Roberts doesn’t smoke or drink, except for the odd Baileys at Christmas. The 45-year-old is described as a fitness freak – who would go to the gym six times a week.
The mother-of-one was working out when she collapsed last month and doctors discovered she’d had a haemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by a bleed on the brain.
Thankful she survived, but – having been left unable to talk and move her right side – her family are now fearful over how lasting the damage will be.
Almost two thirds of stroke survivors in the UK leave hospital with a disability, and experts say earlier and more intensive rehabilitation improves outcomes.
But despite Chantelle being treated in one of the Government’s flagship specialist acute stroke units, her loved ones have felt the need to set up a GoFundMe page to pay for private care.
These units are aimed at bringing experts and equipment under one roof to provide “world-class treatment 24 hours a day”.

Connor Roberts (pictured left) has set up a GoFundMe appeal to help with his mother’s care (Photo: Connor Roberts)

However, her son Connor says he was told by staff there is just one speech language therapist to cover the whole ward who works part-time, Monday to Thursdays.

“We’re afraid a session once or twice a week is not intensive enough to give the best chance of recovering, because the first six weeks are critical,” he said. “The staff have been really great. It’s not their fault, they are so overstretched.”

Stroke patients missing out

Chantelle, from Milton Keynes, is one of 100,000 people each year in the UK to suffer a stroke, which is the fourth largest cause of death and the leading cause of disability.
Rehabilitation therapy, which includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, can help patients relearn basic skills such as how to walk, talk and eat again so they can regain their independence.
NICE guidelines recommend the NHS provides at least 45 minutes, five days a week of each type of therapy needed for as long as it’s of benefit to them.
However, the Stroke Association has revealed that, on average, stroke survivors only receive around a third of that.

“She’s so fit, active and 45 is hardly old,” said Connor, 25, who was travelling in Australia when he got the call that his mother had taken ill on 14 March.
While old age and poor lifestyle increase risks, he explained that medics say her family history could be to blame as her brother had an attack when he was just 10.
“The cruel irony is she’d recently become a carer for people suffering brain damage. She’d decided to dedicate her life to this and she was cherished there, she’s desperate to get back to her job.
“She’s getting physio about four times a week and she’s able to lift her left leg, but we’re worried her speech is lagging behind – sometimes it takes her half an hour to say one sentence.”
Milton Keynes University Hospital referred i to Central North West London NHS Trust, which provides speech and language therapy for the unit. It confirmed it was not commissioned for NICE’s five day recommendation.

A spokesperson said: “Chantelle’s story is heart breaking. The story rightly reports that we are commissioned to provide four days a week to this ward and that is mainly for swallowing problems.

“While the earlier a patient can start to participate in rehabilitation therapy, not all patients are able to do this at the same rate and intensity and this has to be provided at a pace appropriate to the individual.

“NICE guidance says communication support from speech and language therapist should be led by them but supported by other trained members of the multidisciplinary team such as nurses who are working with patients 24 hours a day.”

The postcode lottery for stroke care
Stroke survivors’ recoveries are being put at risk due to a lack of rehabilitation therapy after they leave hospital, according to the Stroke Association.
Figures show that on average, stroke patients only receive around a third of the amount of rehabilitation therapy recommended by Nice, which is 45 minutes a day for five days.
The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) report for 2016-2017 shows that they receive just 16 minutes of physiotherapy, 16 minutes of occupational therapy and 12 minutes of speech and language therapy per day.
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive at the Stroke Association, said: “We know that some stroke survivors have resorted to paying privately for therapy as they fear for their future.
“But, rehabilitation therapy is an absolute necessity for stroke recovery, it should not be a luxury only available to those who can afford it.”
The charity is calling on local health commissioners to prioritise meeting the recommended standards of rehabilitation therapy to ensure that stroke survivors can make their best recovery and rebuild their lives.

Centralising strokes units ‘saves lives’

Chantelle’s story comes after the Government announced it is considering shutting a third of the stroke centres in England. There are currently 126 stroke units in the country but the plans would see this number reduced to just 86 hyper acute stroke units (HASUs).
Parts of the UK have already made significant strides in centralising stroke services. The concept has caused controversy, as the closure of local services means stroke victims will have to travel for up to 45 minutes.

From left to right is a family friend Dean, Connor, Chantelle and her partner of 12 years and fiance Paul (Photo: Connor Roberts)

Read more
Major study reveals improvements can be made at least 20 years after a stroke

But the idea is that these larger ‘centres of excellence’ operate round-the-clock with the best equipment and clinicians under one roof. The hope is to end the ‘postcode lottery’ of care and to reduce the number of deaths and disabilities from the condition.
According to the Stroke Association, evidence shows that centralising stroke services “can save lives, improve recoveries and save the NHS money.”
Since 2010, anyone having a stroke in London is taken to one of eight 24/7 HASUs rather than the nearest hospital. The charity says this saves 96 extra lives in London in a year and saves the NHS £5.2 million per annum.

Austerity has ‘crippled the NHS’

“The £20.5 billion funding will barely make up for eight years of austerity that have crippled the NHS”
Dr Kailash Chand

Campaigners have warned that stroke services needed overhauling, given that the rate of strokes in over 45s is expected to increase by 59 per cent in the next 20 years, according to the Stroke Association. Indeed, the condition costs society a staggering £26 billion a year.
The proposals to create more HASUs were outlined in NHS England’s Long-term Plan, launched by the Prime Minister in January.
But some experts believe that not enough money is being ploughed into the NHS to make a real difference.
NHS commentator and former GP Dr Kailash Chand at the time said: “The 10-year NHS plan is in reality a policy statement to solve a political – not practical – problem.
“As I have argued before, the total £20.5 billion funding will barely make up for eight years of austerity that have crippled the NHS and social care and undermined public health.”
Do you have a real life health story? Email claudia.tanner@inewsco.uk