Welcome to the latest

issue of FORWARD, the

newsletter for people

who have had a stroke,

and their families.

In this issue we have a

new section which we

hope will become a

regular feature. In this

WELCOME TO FORWARD

ORWARDNews from the South London Stroke Register

Issue 8January 2010

FNHS Foundation Trust

National Stroke Audit:Easy Access Version of the Report

The Stroke Programme at

the Royal College of

Physicians (RCP) has

been collecting

information on stroke

services provided at

hospitals throughout the

country for over 10 years.

In 2008, the RCP carried

out an audit (review) of

224 hospitals to see

whether they were

following the National Continued on page 2

Guideline, which tells

hospitals how to organise

stroke services.

The RCP sent detailed

reports of the results to the

hospitals which took part,

and also had a public

report with national

statistics. However, it was

clear that the public report

was not suitable for many

feature one of our readers

will review a book written

by a stroke survivor about

their personal experience

of stroke. Marcela's review

of The Diary of a Stroke by

Martin Stephen is on page

3.

Please get in touch with

the Forward editorial team

if you have any

suggestions for articles or

would like to be involved

in writing and producing

Forward. Please contact

Chris McKevitt on 020

7848 6628 or email

stroke-register@kcl.ac.uk

We hope you enjoy this

issue and look forward to

hearing from you.

The Royal College of

Physicians, Regents Park

by James Campbell, Sentinel Stroke Project Coordinator

FORWARD - NEWS FROM THE SOUTH LONDON STROKE REGISTER

2

Continued from page 1

of the people who were

interested in knowing

about the findings of the

audit - it was too long and

too detailed. The RCP

therefore decided to

create an Easy Access

Version of this report, so

that it could be accessible

to more people, especially

those who have had a

stroke.

The Easy Access Version

tells you about most of the

points in the full report but

in less detail. The aim is

that it will help people who

have difficulty

concentrating, reading

small print or

understanding what they

read. This was done by

using fewer and shorter

words, larger print, more

spacing and pictures.

There are also graphs to

help explain what the

results mean.

A working group of

patients and carers helped

to make the Easy Access

Version as user-friendly as

possible.

To get your free copy of the

Easy Access Version of the

Stroke Audit Report,

please email

stroke@rcplondon.ac.uk

and state the number of

copies you would like,

along with your name and

address, or alternatively

please ask Chris McKevitt

(020 7848 6628) to order a

copy for you.

Researchers from theSouth London StrokeRegister have foundthat the risk of havinganother stroke remainshigh a number of yearsafter the first stroke.

This study usedinformation from 2874people from the SouthLondon Stroke Register

who had their first strokebetween 1995 and 2004.These people werefollowed up for up to 10years to see if they hadanother stroke during thistime.

The researchers looked atpeople who were still alivea year after their strokeand found that 7% of

these peoplehad gone on tohave a secondstroke. Fiveyears after thefirst stroke,16% had goneon to have asecond stroke.Of thosepeople stillalive after ten

RESEARCH UPDATEyears, one in four had hadanother stroke.

This study also found thatpeople who had had aheart attack or hadirregular heartbeat (atrialfibrillation) were at higherrisk of having anotherstroke in the following year.High blood pressure andirregular heartbeatincreased the risk ofhaving another stroke fiveyears after the first stroke.Older age, high bloodpressure, having had aheart attack and irregularheartbeat increased therisk of a second strokeafter ten years.

This study tells us that it isparticularly important forstroke survivors to havetheir blood pressureproperly controlled and tohave heart conditions suchas atrial fibrillation treated.

Highlights of research findings from the SouthLondon Stroke Register

BOOK REVIEW

Issue 8 - January 2010

3

gradually improves his handwriting. He

recites poetry and prose to regain his

speech and memory. Regular pacing back

and forth on the lawn or climbing up and

down the stairs help flex his weak limbs.

When restored to full health through sheer

will of mind much earlier than expected, he

returns to his prestigious teaching post

with a new zest for life. His inspirational

diary of deeply felt personal experiences,

peppered with dry humour and self-irony,

is published and well-received.

The key to this success story lies

undeniably in the patient's imaginative self-

help approach to disability, his dogged

perseverance and the loving support of

family and friends. Dr Stephen's frank book

goes beyond giving

encouragement or

sound advice to

stroke victims. Full of

sharp observations

and provoking

thoughts about

modern life, it

provides a

valuable insight

into the attitudes

of the medical

profession and

NHS practices

for a wider readership.

In the first of our new regular feature

Marcela Hajek reviews The Diary of a

Stroke by Dr Martin Stephen,

headmaster of St Paul's School in

London.

When Martin Stephen - a highflier in his

prime - suffers a severe stroke without

warning, he can hardly walk, hold a pen,

see properly or speak. Shattered by the

ordeal, he starts chronicling his

determined battle with the crippling

condition step by step with perceptive

detail.

After a stressful bout of hospital tests

come the crucial months of intensive

rehabilitation at home. Not giving in to

fatigue, pain or frustration, he devises and

sticks to his daily routine of repetitive

exercises to speed up recovery. Trying to

revive his slowed down reflexes, he

bounces a tennis ball against the wall or

plays TV games for hours. By filling sheets

of paper with an illegible scrawl he

A Diary of a Strokeby Dr Martin Stephen

Dr Tony Rudd has beenappointed the first clinicaldirector for stroke inHealthcare for London whichis currently in the process ofredesigning stroke servicesacross the Capital.

Dr Rudd is the leadphysician for stroke at St

Thomas' Hospital, a positionhe has held since 1992. He isalso a member of the King’sCollege London StrokeResearch Programme andhas been involved with theSouth London StrokeRegister since it was set up.

Talking about his new job,

Tony said, “I will provide

support and advice to

individual clinicians, hospitals

and Primary Care Trusts on

how best to provide care.

However, I would not

hesitate to challenge

services that I thought were

failing to deliver high quality

care. I will represent stroke

professionals both within

London and nationally and

at all times represent the

interests of stroke survivors

and their carers.”

STROKE CZARFOR LONDON

Would you like to work with strokeresearchers to find out more aboutstroke and the services stroke survivorsneed?

Would you like to meet others whohave experienced stroke to shareexperiences and ideas?

If yes, then the Stroke ResearchPatients and Family Group is for you.

The group meets in the Boardroom ofthe Greenwood Theatre, 55 Weston

Stroke Research Patients and Family GroupStreet, London SE1 3RA

Tuesday 9th February 2010, 2-4pmTuesday 30th March 2010, 2-4pmTuesday 11th May 2010, 2-4pmTuesday 15th June 2010, 2-4pmTuesday 27th July 2010, 2-4pm

If you are interested in coming along,

please contact Chris McKevitt on

020 7848 6628

Expenses are available to help with

travel costs to the meeting.

4

Receive the

newsletter by

email

If you wouldprefer toreceive thisnewsletter byemail pleasesend youremail addressto:

stroke-register

@kcl.ac.uk

@

FORWARD - NEWS FROM THE SOUTH LONDON STROKE REGISTER Issue 8 - January 2010

There have been a few changes

recently in the Register office. We

say farewell to Jo Brooke, the

register coordinator, after 4 years

of running the register.

SOUTH LONDON

STROKE REGISTER

Connect

The communication disability network

020 7367 0840, www.ukconnect.org

Speakability

Supports people living with aphasia and

their carers

080 8808 9572, www.speakability.org.uk

The Stroke Association

0845 30 33 100, www.stroke.org.uk

Different Strokes

Information and support for people under 50

0845 130 7172, www.differentstrokes.co.uk

Useful Contacts

If you have any queries about the Register please contact

Dr Juliet Addo on 020 7848 6613 or email

stroke-register@kcl.ac.uk