Stroke recovery services in Oxfordshire are under threat.

Stroke changes a life in an instant. It can happen to anyone, of any age, at any time. With access to the right support, stroke survivors can make a good recovery. A specialised stroke recovery service is vital to supporting stroke survivors to rebuild their lives.

Last year the Stroke Association was given the opportunity to offer a full Stroke Recovery Service, supporting stroke survivors, their families, and carers to rebuild their lives after stroke. Oxford University Health Trust have now told us they will not fund the Oxfordshire stroke recovery service after June 2024.

My own experience of leaving hospital with no knowledgeable support and the impact on me and my family then, and subsequently, has been dramatic. It took me several months, and in some cases years, to access advice and support and to date (12 years later) I’m still trying to regain some of my old quality of life. I see this same struggle in fellow stroke survivors albeit, there did seem to be some hope that things had improved in the short time the Stroke Recovery Service was in place.

By not funding this service, it leaves a black hole of support across all of Oxfordshire in comparison to the surrounding areas of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. This gap in service provision will be creating a postcode lottery and a health inequality for Oxfordshire.

We need your help to save the service. Recovery from a stroke can represent significant challenges and at the point you are discharged from hospital you need someone to guide you through what is often a myriad of physical, emotional, mental, and otherwise life changing issues.

Please sign this petition and give future stroke survivors  and their families in Oxfordshire the best chance to live a normal life and contribute to society rather than struggle trying to manage health issues and other consequences of a life changing event.

John Phillips, Dad, Grandad and Stroke Survivor.