The Blenheim wife of a stroke survivor says lack of access to community rehabilitation in Marlborough means stroke patients are falling through the cracks.
Marlborough Stroke Club secretary Vyvienne Dunlop heard cases of stroke patients admitted to Wairau Hospital on a Friday and being discharged over the weekend without a stroke plan in place.
A briefing paper on stroke services in Nelson Marlborough District Health Board said Wairau does not have a ATR (assessment, treatment and rehabilitation) community rehabilitation team and stroke patients had limited access to outpatient community rehabilitation services after their discharge.
There was no lead stroke nurse at Nelson and Wairau hospitals, and up to 50 per cent of stroke patients are discharged without physiotherapy or occupational therapy assessment and advice.
Dunlop said it was a huge problem that there was limited community access to physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy.
"There are so many of our members that slip through the cracks because there aren't enough physiotherapists and speech language therapists," Dunlop said. "My husband was in hospital for four days after his stroke. He was discharged without a plan in place."
Dunlop said a lack of funding and resources contributed to the problem.
"Those that don't get community rehabilitation don't take a step forward. People are trying to pick up their lives and don't realise it is normal to be so exhausted you can't lift your head."
People were encouraged to turn to Marlborough Stroke Club, a social outlet for survivors and their partners, when they hit rock bottom, she said.
Report author South Island Alliance Stroke Group facilitator Jane Large said creating an organised stroke service in Nelson Marlborough would lead to better health outcomes for stroke survivors.
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Support sought for stroke survivors