There is no plan anywhere in the world for getting stroke survivors 100% recovered! Everything in stroke is a shitshow; NO leadership; NO strategy!
In France, lack of national stroke plan places heavy burden on survivors and families
Clara Bauer-Babef
Reporter; Health
Location: Paris
Languages: French, English
Expertise: Health
This article is part of our special report Navigating care pathways for stroke survivors across the EU.
In France, stroke is the second leading cause of death after cancer. Yet to date, there is no national plan to prevent stroke or address the life after stroke for patients and their families.
Every year in France, 150,000 new people experience a stroke, meaning one stroke every four minutes, leading to death for 30,000 people, according to figures from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
“This often ignored or neglected pathology affects almost 500,000 French people today, two-thirds of whom are left with disabilities,” the Ministry of Health said on its website.
In France, the last national stroke plan was for 2010-2014. “Since then, nothing new has been proposed,” pointed out Françoise Benon, president of the Fonds de dotation France AVC, a patients’ association.
Among the countries of the European Union, France is a poor performer, particularly when it comes to caring for patients after a stroke.
There are no specialised centres in France to receive stroke victims and their families and to support them throughout their care, both physical and mental.
Given the lack of specialised centres, stroke survivors are often placed in accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (EHPAD), “whatever their age”, deplored the chairwoman of the France AVC Endowment Fund.
“We receive dramatic phone calls from families saying ‘I don’t want my son to go to an old people’s home,” she explained.
Particularly as there are no qualified staff or appropriate care for stroke victims in care homes. “Families are outraged,” added Benon.
Families find themselves powerless due to a lack of information, support and qualified professionals. “We’re short of doctors, nurses and stroke specialists. Home help is expensive,” continued Benon.
In the majority of cases, it is the relatives who look after the victims. They become carers “in spite of themselves”, with a considerable impact on their private and professional lives.
The after-effects of a stroke vary from person to person. Some are invisible, such as fatigue or memory loss. “People find themselves the target of ridicule”, and yet, psychological support is essential.
“Carers have an essential role to play. They bring well-being and provide emotional support. They are admirable people,” added Benon.
Belgium, European champion
Conversely, Belgium is a model country in Europe when it comes to caring for stroke victims, forcing families to travel to ensure that their loved ones receive proper treatment.
This is the case for Claudine Belguiral, whose daughter, a stroke victim in 2015, is being looked after by doctors in a specialist neurology centre in Belgium, as she could not find enough help and care in France.
“In Belgium, as soon as you go to the emergencies for a stroke, there’s immediately re-education and post-stroke care”, such as moving different parts of the patient’s body, she told Euractiv.
“In France, you have to wait ten days.”
But support is essential. “Stroke is like a hurricane that hits the person and the family. It calls a whole life into question”, said Belguiral.
In her opinion, France lacks a national prevention policy against stroke but also experiences a general lack of knowledge.
“There is a lack of medical knowledge, not least because they don’t receive enough information about stroke during their training,” she explained.
For example, between 2014 and 2017, the frequency of stroke among the 25% poorest people was 40% higher than among the 25% richest people, according to data from the French Department of Foreign Economic Relations (DREE).
As a result, “in France, strokes are more frequent, more serious and less often treated in specialised units for people of modest means”, according to the DREE.
However, a better understanding of strokes is one of the keys to implementing effective public health policies and reducing the number of strokes per year in France.
Alongside Belgium, other good performers are Sweden, Finland, and Germany, said Belguiral.
In France, patients’ associations, such as the Fonds de dotation France AVC, are almost the only structures to help victims and their families, doing their best to compensate for the absence of a genuine national health policy.
“Stroke is the second leading cause of death in France after cancer, yet it is not a national priority,” concluded Benon.
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