Stroke Association

The Stroke Association is a charity in the United Kingdom. It works to prevent stroke, and to support everyone touched by stroke, fund research, and campaign for the rights of stroke survivors of all ages.

The Stroke Association
FoundedJanuary 1, 1992 (1992-01-01)
Foundern/a
Typecharity
Registration no.England and Wales: 211015
Scotland: SC037789
Northern Ireland: XT33805
Isle of Man: No 945
Jersey: NPO 369
FocusStroke Support
Location
  • City Road
    London, EC1
    United Kingdom
Area served
United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Guernsey
Revenue
£37.3 million (2016/17)[1]
Employees
649[2]
Volunteers
3,885[2]
Websitewww.stroke.org.uk
www.facebook.com/TheStrokeAssociation
www.twitter.com/thestrokeassoc

History

The Stroke Association was formed in 1992 out of the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association (CHASA), to focus exclusively on stroke. The preceding decades had seen the development of community based rehabilitation programs based on the work of Valerie Eaton Griffiths with actress Patricia Neal – wife of author Roald Dahl - following her series of severe strokes in the 1960s.[3] Supported by the CHASA, these services became an increasingly significant part of their work until the charity decided to focus all of its attention and resources on stroke to become the Stroke Association.[4]

Life After Stroke

The Stroke Association provides a wide range of Life After Stroke services to meet the needs of stroke survivors and carers across the UK. Services include the Stroke Recovery Service, Communication Support Service, Emotional Support Service, Exercise-based Rehabilitation Service, Post Stroke Review service and Caring and You; which helped over 58,000 stroke survivors across the UK in 2016-17. These services operate in England (including the Isle of Man and Jersey), Wales and Northern Ireland.

Prevention

The charity campaigns to support primary and secondary stroke prevention.

Stroke Association launched the Life After Stroke campaign[5] in May 2012, which aims to support people in their stroke recovery. The campaign is outlined in the Struggling to recover report and features key data from the Daily Life survey, the UK's largest ever survey from stroke survivors.[6] This campaign is supported by the Stroke Survivors’ Declaration, a document informing survivors on what they should expect from health and social care.[7]

In 2011, the charity was involved in the "Hardest Hit" campaign against cuts to benefits for people with disabilities.[8]

Other campaigning activities

FAST

The charity is working in partnership with the Department of Health (United Kingdom) on its Act FAST campaign, which was launched in 2009 and supported by national TV advertisements. The FAST (stroke) campaign informs the public on how to use a test to recognise stroke symptoms quickly. FAST is an acronym for Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech problems and Time to call 999.[9]

Know Your Blood Pressure

The Stroke Association runs the "Know Your Blood Pressure" (KYBP) campaign[10] with its partners Rotary International, the Emergency Medical Services, and St. Andrew's First Aid to offer free blood-pressure testing to members of the public. KYBP also encourages the public to organise independent blood-pressure testing events.[11]

Research

Stroke Association funds research into stroke prevention, treatment and after-care in the UK. Since 1991 it has invested over £55 million on vital stroke research.[12] Research funded by Stroke Association has the ultimate aim of making stroke a preventable and treatable disease, and improving the quality of life for people affected by stroke. A list of research projects funded by the organisation is available on the Stroke Association website.[13]

The findings from research are crucial in the search for new ways to prevent a stroke happening, find new or improve existing treatments for those people who have a stroke, and understand how the brain works and changes after a stroke.

The evidence about treatments and therapies that comes from research also helps doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals to convince commissioners to provide appropriate and effective services to help the 150,000 people in the UK who have a stroke each year.

Current research by Professor Keith Muir at the University of Glasgow is working to improve thrombolytic research with funding from the charity.[14] In 2011, they funded research into boosting the natural brain repair process to limit post-stroke disability. This was led by Professor Lalit Kalra of King's College London.[14]

Stroke Association has a research strategy for 2019-2024.

Other activities

Life After Stroke Awards

The Life After Stroke Awards is an annual award ceremony that celebrates the achievements of stroke survivors, their families, carers, healthcare professionals and supporters. The event has received support from celebrities including Sir Bruce Forsyth, Gail Porter, Neil Fox and Lynda Bellingham.

Publications

Stroke News is the charity's magazine aimed at stroke patients and the health professionals who work with them. The Stroke Association also produce a range of patient-centred and awareness-raising leaflets and factsheets.

UK Stroke Forum

The Stroke Association hosts the UK Stroke Forum – a coalition of 32 organisations committed to improving stroke care. The forum is the largest multidisciplinary stroke conference in the UK where stroke clinicians and researchers share ideas, promote research and provide a unified voice for more statutory sector funding for research.[15]

The charity host the UK Stroke Assembly, an event attended by stroke survivors, carers, stroke charities and researchers.[16]

SAFE

The Stroke Association has held the Secretariat of the pan-European patient representative organisation Stroke Action For Europe since its inception in 2004.[17] SAFE consists of 22 patient groups across Europe. SAFE exists to promote awareness and prevention of stroke, increase the priority given to stroke by policy and decision-makers in the EU, and “co-ordinate the efforts of national stroke patient groups in Europe”.[18]

Fundraising

The Stroke Association has a number of flagship annual fundraising events, as well as taking part in independent provider's events, such as the London Marathon.

Make May Purple

Make May Purple for stroke is our annual stroke awareness month, taking place every May. Friends, families and communities are invited to show their support for people who have been affected by stroke.

Resolution Run

The Stroke Association's UK-wide Resolution Runs encourage people to make running their resolution for the New Year. With 5, 10k and 15k routes to choose from there's a distance to suit all running abilities.

Step Out for Stroke

Step Out for Stroke is a chance for stroke survivors, friends and families to take part in a walk together. Each step you take helps spread awareness of stroke and raise vital funds for our work in supporting the stroke community.

Give a Hand and Bake

Give a Hand and Bake is an annual baking week held each October. Friends, families and communities are invited to show their support for people who have been affected by stroke, by coming together to host a bake sale to raise vital funds.

Awards

The charity has won and been shortlisted for a number of notable awards, including:

  • Finalist, Third Sector Awards (2009), ‘Big Impact’ and ‘Social Enterprise’
  • Finalist, Britain's Best Charity (2008)
  • Finalist, Britain's Best Charity (2007)
  • Winner, UK Charity Awards (2006), ‘Healthcare and Medical Research’[19]
  • Finalist, The Running Awards (2017), 'Large Charity'[20]
  • Bronze, The Running Awards (2017), 'Event Series' for Resolution Runs[21]

References
  1. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2016/17
  2. Charity Overview, 2011
  3. Archived February 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Archived January 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Struggling to recover - The Life After Stroke Campaign | The Stroke Association". Stroke.org.uk. 1980-01-01. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  6. "Struggling to Recover" (PDF). 2012-05-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  7. "The Stroke Survivors' Declaration | The Stroke Association". Stroke.org.uk. 1980-01-01. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  8. "The Hardest Hit | Fighting cuts to support for disabled people". Thehardesthit.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  9. Time to call 999 if you see any single one of these signs. "Stroke - Act F.A.S.T". Nhs.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  10. "Know Your Blood Pressure | The Stroke Association". Stroke.org.uk. 1980-01-01. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  11. "RIBI". RIBI. 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  12. "Research Strategy 2019-24 | The Stroke Association" (PDF). Stroke.org.uk. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  13. "Research Projects | The Stroke Association". Stroke.org.uk. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  15. http://www.ukstrokeforum.org/about
  16. "About the UK Stroke Assembly | UK Stroke Assembly". Strokeassembly.org.uk. 2012-07-07. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  17. "Stroke Alliance For Europe (SAFE) > Home". Safestroke.org. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  18. "Stroke Alliance For Europe (SAFE) > About SAFE > Aims Of SAFE". Safestroke.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  19. "Stroke Association". Civilsociety.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-01-18. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  20. "Stroke Association". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  21. "The Running Awards on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
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