The Stroke Association is a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * 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 sha ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It works to prevent

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, 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 – wife of author

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

- 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(including the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

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 The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Prevention

The charity campaigns to support primary and secondary

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 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care mat ...

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, mnemonic device to help early recognition and detection of the signs and symptoms of a stroke. The acronym stands for Facial drooping, Arm (or leg) weakness, Speech difficulties and Time to call emergency ser ...

campaign informs the public on how to use a test to recognize stroke symptoms 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 Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

, the

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

, 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, Sir Bruce Forsyth, Gail Porter, Neil Fox, and Lynda Bellingham.

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 (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

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