During lockdown, I had a few families contacting me about their loved ones who had recently had a stroke and were discharged from hospital earlier than expected – due to new hospital procedures to reduce the risk of infection during the pandemic. I reassured the families that there may be fewer staff available on the wards and that the hospitals were trying to work in new ways to help people get the support they need after a stroke.

As someone who was used to working within a stroke care and stroke rehabilitation unit, I could empathise and understand how frustrating it must have been for these families playing the waiting game. I knew that if I wasn’t from a medical background, I would be feeling helpless seeing my family member day in day out, not knowing what to do or who to ask for help.

As a Stroke Speech & Language Therapist, I know that the first part of rehabilitating any stroke patient is educating the patient and their families – about strokes, stroke care and pathways, so that they can identify what has happened to them and why (which is key for prevention), what happens next, the role of each health professional involved in their care and how they can help.

It is important for patients and family members to know this. They need to be able to ask the right questions to the right people and get access to the right help and resources for themselves or their love ones. More importantly, stroke education is essential for families. The patient may see a therapist for 45 mins every day, but spend most of their time with their families, who are fundamental for rehab.

I am aware that patients and families often find it difficult to retain the verbal information they are given. The everyday jargon healthcare professionals use can often mean nothing to patients and their families, which further strengthens a feeling of isolation.

In response to this, I started running Stroke Education Saturdays on a Facebook community group.  Every week, I had a guest speaker (health professionals e.g. doctor, dietitian, occupational therapist, physiotherapist etc) educating the community about strokes, stroke care, their role and where they come along the stroke care pathway.

The main purpose of Stroke Education Saturdays was to give families the opportunity to ask health professionals questions… or even comment on the pre-recorded interviews that were uploaded on Saturdays. This would help to give them the support they needed while playing the waiting game.

My responsibility was to advocate for the community and ensure the information that was given in conversations with these health professionals was accessible to the community members, jargon free. I also used the platform to educate families about dysphagia and communication disorders.