The Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) reported this month on access to support
services for people who have had recent strokes. There is widespread acknowledgement that acute services for stroke patients have improved considerably – such as raising public awareness about recognising strokesymptoms, improving access to clot-busting drugs and implementing dedicated stroke units at major hospitals
However, the service that still needs a vast amount of improvement is long term rehabilitation – the vital community support after a patient comes out of hospital and returns home.
This is highlighted through the ‘Sentinel Stroke Audit 2010’ which examined the follow-up care of stroke patients after their hospital discharge. The audit found that fewer than half of hospitals have access to a stroke-specific early supported discharge service, despite evidence showing that patients can really benefit from such a service. This means that patients aren’t receiving prompt, necessary access to multidisciplinary rehabilitation services (e.g. speech & language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, etc.) and continuity of care is not being preserved.
Studies such as these are extremely important for speech & language therapists as they allow us to make better informed decisions about the therapy that we provide – the more evidence showing that the therapy works, the better. At the moment, PLORAS’ early results indicate that people with aphasia can benefit from intensive therapy over 5 years after their stroke. This is very encouraging news for stroke patients who still feel that they can improve their speech & language, but need support.
Sentinel Stroke Audit 2010 – http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/clinical-standards/ceeu/Current-work/stroke/Pages/Audit.aspx
PLORAS – http://www.nature.com/nrneurol/journal/v6/n4/abs/nrneurol.2010.15.html
Sarah Bennington – October 2010
Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. ITS is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands . It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists Therapists.
