Calls have been made for a new, patient-focussed National Stroke Strategy for Wales which prioritises rehabilitative care closer to home and makes it easier for stroke survivors to receive home adaptations.
Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd Senedd candidate Mabon ap Gwynfor has warned that rural communities could again be disproportionally impacted if the Welsh Government further delay the publication of a new stroke strategy for Wales.
Mabon ap Gwynfor said:
‘The previous stroke plan for Wales, the Welsh Government’s Stroke Delivery Plan, came to an end last year and they have not developed a new plan.’
‘This needs urgent attention so that service providers can plan ahead, and so the government can dovetail the demands of their National Stroke Plan with other organisations and projects to ensure a seamless and integrated care service.’
‘We have around 1,400 stroke survivors in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, and they need assurances on what the future path looks like in terms of care and physiotherapy.’
‘We desperately need more rehabilitation beds so that survivors can access care closer to home. There is an opportunity to plug this gap with the proposed development at Penrhos, and I hope the health board will look at this as an option.’
‘But Meirionnydd, which is often at the thin end of the wedge when it comes to health provision, also needs more beds to allow survivors to rehabilitate closer to home.’
‘Stroke survivors need access to good quality rehabilitation services, and people should have a right to timely rehabilitation and home adaptations without having to fight for them.’
‘This means providing proper funding to our County Councils, who have suffered a decade of swinging cuts, and a drive to train and recruit more occupational therapists.’
‘I’m proud that Plaid Cymru MS Dr Dai Lloyd, originally from Dinas Mawddwy, has been at the forefront of calls to secure a new National Stroke Plan for Wales, and I hope to have the opportunity to make sure the government delivers on this.’
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