Different Strokes Conference Report 2009

The 2009 Different Strokes conference took place on Saturday 16 May at the Winter Gardens in Weston Super Mare. With its theme of “Life After Stroke”, it was very well attended and proved to be a very informative and entertaining day for all.

The day kicked off with a warm welcome speech from Bob Watson who had organised and was hosting the conference on behalf of Different Strokes North Somerset.

Debbie Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, was delighted that so many people had travelled so far, and told of exciting times ahead both for stroke in general due to the high profile of the National Stroke Strategy, and for Different Strokes as it launches its new information leaflet and embarks on a raising awareness campaign amongst GP surgeries and hospitals.

Finally Sarah Welsh, Chair of the Trustees and new in role, was pleased to have the opportunity to introduce herself to the membership. She gave thanks to the previous chair, Mike Druce, and to Keith Wood for his continued input as treasurer. She looked forward to helping Different Strokes continue its mission of providing support to younger stroke survivors in exciting times ahead.

The first speaker was Dr Pankaj Sharma, who gave the very popular inaugural Moira Lister Lecture, with the theme of “A Hope for Stroke”. (Please click here to see his presentation). Dr Sharma, Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Medical Adviser to Different Strokes, spoke of stroke as a global phenomenon, being the commonest cause of disability, second commonest cause of dementia and third commonest cause of death. However, the National Stroke Strategy has now redesigned the stroke care pathway and centralised services so that stroke should be managed by centres of excellence, providing appropriate interventions such as thrombolysis to reduce mortality and disability, and secondary measures to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Research is being undertaken in UK studies to identify genes in those affected by stroke. Dr Sharma has himself been involved in stem cell trials for stroke ione of the few centres in the world currently undertaking this research.

Mary Reed, Project Manager at the University of Bath, spoke of the successful Community Stroke Projects she had been involved in which addressed the fact that a lot of funds are focussed on the acute side of stroke and fail to deal adequately with the rehabilitative side once the person has returned home, resulting in poor outcomes. (Please click here to see her presentation). The aims of her projects were to signpost services that were available, improve confidence so that people felt able to attend community based stroke groups, improve general wellbeing. Results showed that regaining social identity following a stroke is very important and positive. Healthcare professionals need to treat the person and not the stroke. Long-term support needs to mean long-term! Services need to be designed to help stroke survivors have mastery over their own lives.

Another very popular and inspirational speaker was Robin Lamerton from Connect who spoke about the Access to Life project in Cornwall. (Please click here to see his presentation). Following his own stroke, he had experienced at first hand the difficulties a stroke survivor often faces when attempting to retrain and gain new employment. He spoke of his experiences with aphasia, and problems with expressing memory and comprehension difficulties to the Job Centre etc (The Invisible Side of Stroke). He now works for Connect and runs the Access to Life project which includes a befriending scheme, conversation group and HUBS – solving, networking and influencing groups run by people with aphasia.

Paul Farrall from The Mobility Service explained the legislation regarding driving after a stroke which states that people must not drive for one month following a stroke or TIA. (Please click here to see his presentation). There is no need to inform the DVLA unless residual neurological deficits remain one month afterwards. If a person has epilepsy, he or she is able to drive again after a 12 month period providing there has been no further seizure. He was also able to provide comprehensive detail about the practical assessment that many stroke survivors face so that they can be deemed medically able to return to driving, and about the Motability scheme which enables people to use their higher rate DLA to fund a new car, powered wheelchair or scooter.

Dominic Nolan, Clinical Engineer at the Department of Clinical Science and Engineering at Salisbury District Hopsital, gave an enthusiastic and informative presentation about Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) which is used to synchronise walking to help people with dropped foot and has now received NICE approval. (Please click here to see his presentation). This is a procedure that has benefitted many of our members – if you are interested, ask your GP to refer you to Dr Ian Swain as funding should be available from your PCT. This service is also available on a private basis.

“Stroke Survivors Stories” from Steve George from Different Strokes Redbridge, Annie Diggins and Lisa Caswell from Different Strokes Cambridge (please click hereto see their presentation) and Dave Brand from Different Strokes Preston who spoke about their own individual and personal experiences of “Life After Stroke” and about their involvement in their local communities.

The conference concluded with a Question and Answer session, and the weekend itself ended with the ever-popular Conference Dinner which took place in the Royal Hotel.

Our huge thanks go to Bob Watson and Janet McCulloch for all their hard work in organising a highly informative and enjoyable event.

All that remains to be said is that we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the next Different Strokes conference in 2010! Watch this space for details of the next venue!