Stroke Rehabilitation and Community Services Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Patel
Main Page: Lord Patel (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Patel's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(1 year, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, that is a very important point. Two things have really struck me. When people are in hospital, they lose 10% of their muscle mass per week, which is clearly key in their ability to have an active lifestyle and look after themselves outside. At the same time, they need constant support and reminders to keep up that active lifestyle. It is very much at the front of our mind.
My Lords, we know that rehabilitation at the appropriate level is key to the best outcome for stroke patients: some 10% will not have any residual disability, 25% will have a minor disability and 40% will have a moderate disability, but without rehabilitation, 80% will have a major disability. Would it be a good idea to carry out a country-wide audit of what services for the rehabilitation of stroke patients are currently like?
I thank the noble Lord. I believe that this is what the national integrated community stroke service is all about. It is the responsibility of each ICS to make sure that there is sufficient capacity in their area. At the same time, it is always good to make sure that that is happening, so I will follow up with the NHS to see what plans are in place to make sure that we really are getting that uniformity of service.