A new digital pathway aimed at supporting stroke survivors has launched today (Friday 21 June) in Lothian.
The ‘Life After Stroke’ Pathway has been developed by a partnership comprising health charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, NHS Lothian and Pogo Digital Healthcare.
The pathway provides stroke survivors tailored information based on their personal experiences, symptoms, and concerns in order to better manage their condition, alongside support from the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland stroke nursing team who provide follow up support in the community.
When onboarded to the pathway, patients receive a self-assessment questionnaire to inform the health information they will receive. These questionnaires will be sent out bi-monthly to track changes in symptoms over time. Information will be sent to patients in the form of short slide presentations, which provide medical & health information, guidance, and signposting to further resources.
The Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland nursing team will be able to utilise the outcomes of the self-assessment questionnaires to better inform and tailor the support, education and advice that patients receive to support recovery.
Patients will only receive talks that are relevant to them, to avoid information overload and only focus on what matters to each patient. These tailored talks will be stored in the patient’s personal online portal, which can be easily accessed and referred to at any time.
Stroke survivor Jeremy Dearling, 67, was involved in the creation of the pathway as a public contributor.
Speaking about the launch, he said: “I have been delighted to have been part of the team developing this pathway with Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, a much-needed resource for survivors of stroke.
“As a public contributor, I have not only been heard and listened to, but as someone with lived experience of a brain injury and who was a staff nurse on a stroke ward, I have found a generous welcome to the team.
“There is a huge amount of support on offer using the newly launched Life After Stroke programme that is in addition to the existing resources available on the CHSS website. A stroke can be an isolating experience, unnecessarily so, so if you have had a stroke or care for someone with one, make use of the help available”.
Joanne Graham, Director of Service Delivery, at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland said: “We are delighted to be able to build on our existing relationship with NHS Lothian to support individuals post stroke through this digital pathway.
“Providing tailored health Information as early as possible is critical to support people to self manage their condition. This pathway will further support our charity’s mission to ensure every person with one of our conditions has access to quality supported self management and community recovery as part of our community health care support service.”
Jack Francis, CEO of Pogo Digital Healthcare, said: “I am delighted to be extending our digital self-management tool into a new Stroke pathway.
“ As someone whose family was negatively impacted by a stroke, it is brilliant to be involved in a project that will give people and their families the support and information they need.”
Dr Charlie Chung, AHP Stroke Strategic Lead and Consultant Occupation Therapist at NHS Lothian said: “I am excited that the Life After Stroke digital pathway will commence testing with the staff and patients of the stroke unit in the Royal Infirmary.
“Stroke survivors consistently report that targeted and relevant information about their stroke would have been valuable at the time of their admission to hospital but provision was inconsistent.
“A key objective is that information provision will not happen by chance, but will be a routine part of service delivery which will ultimately support the self-management of stroke survivors.”
