The Stroke Association is a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. 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.

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 Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

– wife of author Roald Dahl - following her series of severe strokes in the 1960s. 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. Juliet Bouverie was appointed chief executive of the Stroke Association in June 2016. Juliet was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Medal (OBE) in the Queen’s 2020 New Years Honours list, for services to stroke survivors.

Stroke Support services

The Stroke Association provides a wide range o
Stroke Support 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(including the

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and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

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. 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 th
Stroke Association website
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. Research by Professor Keith Muir at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

is working to improve thrombolytic research with funding from the charity.
/ref> 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.

Prevention

The charity campaigns to support primary and secondary stroke prevention.

FAST

The charity is working in partnership with the

Department of Health (United Kingdom) The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

on its Act FAST campaign, which was launched in 2009 and supported by national TV advertisements. The

FAST (stroke) FAST is an acronym used as a mnemonic to help detect and enhance responsiveness to the needs of a person having a stroke. The acronym stands for Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time to call emergency services. *F - Facial dro ...

campaign informs the public on how to use a test to recognize

stroke symptoms A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

quickly. FAST is an acronym for Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech problems and Time to call 999.

Know Your Blood Pressure

The Stroke Association ran the "Know Your Blood Pressure" (KYBP) campaign with its partners Rotary International, the

Emergency Medical Services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

, and St. Andrew's First Aid to offer free blood-pressure testing to members of the public. KYBP also encouraged the public to organize independent blood-pressure testing events.

Other activities

Life After Stroke Awards

Th
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

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant, (born 10 October 1946) is an English broadcaster, television personality and former radio DJ. He presented the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and the game show '' Who Wants to Be a Mil ...

Sir Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Nigh ...

Gail Porter Gail Porter (born 23 March 1971) is a Scottish television personality, former model and actress. She started her television career in children's TV, before branching out into modelling and presenting mainstream TV. In the 1990s, she famously po ...

, Neil Fox, and

Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. S ...

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 o
patient-centred and awareness-raising leaflets and fact sheets

Conferences and events

The Stroke Association hosts th
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. The charity host th
UK Stroke Assembly
an event attended by stroke survivors, carers, stroke charities and researchers.

SAFE

The Stroke Association has held the Secretariat of the pan-European patient representative organisation Stroke Action For Europe since its inception in 2004. 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”.

Stroke Awareness Month

The Stroke Association support
Stroke Awareness Month
every May.

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 The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

Resolution Run

The Stroke Association's UK-wid
Resolution Runs
encourage people to make running their resolution for the New Year.

Give a Hand and Bake

Give a Hand and Bake
is an annual baking week held each October. Friends, families and communities come together to host bake sales to raise 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’ * Finalist, The Running Awards (2017), 'Large Charity' * Bronze, The Running Awards (2017), 'Event Series' for Resolution Runs * Finalist, Better Society Awards (2020), 'Partnership with a Health Charity' with ISS UK

References

External links

Stroke Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroke Association, The Health charities in the United Kingdom Health in the London Borough of Islington Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Organizations established in 1992 Medical and health organisations based in London Neurology organizations Stroke organizations 1992 establishments in the United Kingdom