Help is at hand for stroke survivors in regional NSW

Hundreds of survivors of stroke in regional New South Wales will receive additional support to manage their recovery and improve their quality of life as part of the new Stroke Foundation StrokeLine Outreach Service. 

The StrokeLine Outreach Service has been established through a $50,000 COVID-19 Community Recovery Grant from Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation and will ensure stroke survivors and their carers are supported to access the information, resources and services to assist them with their recovery.    

Stroke Foundation New South Wales State Manager Rhian Paton-Kelly said survivors of stroke will now receive a follow up service after they are discharged from hospital. 

"We know the transition from hospital to home can be frustrating, frightening and isolating for many," Ms Paton-Kelly said.  

"While a patient may be making advancements in their physical recovery, their mental health is sometimes overlooked or can decline when they have to adapt to living day to day with the effects of stroke. 

“Anxiety and depression frequently occur after a stroke while emotional, personality and behavioural changes are also common. This can limit patient recovery and challenge relationships with family and carers, but it does not need to be this way. There is support available, but sometimes you need help finding it." 

The service is now underway and will enhance community services in Ballina, Wagga Wagga, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Armidale, Tamworth, Dubbo, Orange, Broken Hill, Shoalhaven, Berry and Lismore. 

Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation Chair, Jennifer Leslie said people in regional communities are at greater risk of adverse impacts from stroke if they can’t access adequate immediate and follow up care. 

"The StrokeLine Outreach Service will help survivors of stroke thrive in their recovery by providing access to the resources and support they need, regardless of their distance from hospital,” Jennifer said. 

StrokeLine Outreach Service provides a personalised letter and an information package that covers how to reduce the risk of having another stroke and how to get further information, referral, advice or support from Stroke Foundation’s website for stroke survivors EnableMe (enableme.or.au) or free phoneline StrokeLine (1800 787 653). There are also fact sheets included on commonly experienced issues after stroke such as anxiety, depression and fatigue. 

Stroke strikes the brain - the human control centre - and can change lives in an instant. It's estimated almost 9,000 people in New South Wales will have a stroke for the first time this year while more than 145,000 survivors of stroke are living in the community. 

Survivor of stroke Amy Jennings said it would have been invaluable to have the StrokeLine Outreach Service available when she returned home because she had many questions about life ahead.  

"While I was fortunate enough to be able to return to the surroundings I knew after my stroke and a supportive family, I was now living with aphasia, which impacts my ability to express and understand written and spoken language," Amy said.  

"It's a big life adjustment. Recovery takes time, particularly when you are learning to live with a physical or hidden disability."  

"It’s important to know you are not alone and it is possible to live well and happy.”

Image: Survivor of stroke Amy Jennings