This conference will focus on life after stroke. We will hear from stroke survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, policy makers and advocates who will come together to address solutions for the practical challenges of life after stroke.
We will discuss with a range of stakeholders, to include stroke survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, policy makers and advocates, their experiences of life after stroke and discuss solutions to address the practical challenges of life after stroke.
Stroke is Ireland’s biggest cause of acquired disability with over 7,500 people hospitalised due to stroke annually, 70% returning home with disabilities. Stroke can rob people of the power of speech, sight and swallow; can cause paralysis, incontinence and lifelong dependency on others to carry out the smallest, most personal tasks. Even mild or moderate stroke can result in complex physical, communication, cognitive and psychological difficulties with a life changing impact on the approximately 70,000 people in Ireland affected. Stroke survivors report feeling ‘abandoned’ after leaving hospital and ‘falling off a cliff edge’ as there are few formal community-based supports or services despite wide-ranging, complex, ongoing needs. Stroke doesn’t just happen to the person, it affects the wider family, family members become carers without knowledge, training or support, causing extensive stress on loved ones, relationships, employment, and finances.
There is an increasing realisation that the care pathway for stroke needs to take a more integrated approach. If we really want to help people with stroke get their life back, they must have full and coordinated support from all sides – family, state/policy, services, health professionals and stroke support organisations. This life after stroke conference offers the opportunity to have a dialogue with all key stakeholders about what the life after stroke pathway looks like in Ireland.
