Hansard

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank Gillian Mackay for securing this important debate. It is important because—as we heard—the Stroke Association estimates that 128,000 people in Scotland are living with the effects of a stroke. The number in my Aberdeenshire West constituency alone is 1,400.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in Scotland, and for many survivors there will be lifelong emotional and psychological effects. A key call of the Stroke Association’s 2013 report, “Feeling overwhelmed: The emotional impact of stroke”, was for improved emotional support, but shockingly, almost a decade later, its recent report has highlighted the fact that nothing has changed.

A constituent of mine, Eric, who lives in Aboyne, has been an avid campaigner since he suffered a stroke in 2004. He has written a book, “Man, Dog, Stroke” and he helps to run an exercise class for stroke survivors in Deeside. Eric knows all too well that people who have the potential for more physical and psychological recovery are not receiving support and are having to go private to get better quality of life.

Psychological support has been overlooked: only a quarter of stroke survivors are receiving enough mental health support. The results are just as appalling as they were almost a decade ago.

That care should start as soon as someone is diagnosed with a stroke, and the Stroke Association’s key recommendation is to improve psychological care and implement the national service model of psychological care in stroke services.

However, unfortunately there just is not the appropriate workforce to ensure that that will happen. There are fewer than eight full-time equivalent psychologists in stroke services in Scotland, and “A Progressive Stroke Pathway” highlights the fact that important work is needed. However, in order for each health board to introduce an effective plan, the Scottish Government needs a stroke-specific workforce.

I also note that there is a range of other delays in access to treatments for stroke survivors. Thrombolysis door-to-needle times are variable across Scotland, and treatment times have not been improving, despite that being an urgent time-sensitive treatment at the onset of stroke. Progress on thrombectomy services is also proceeding too slowly, even though it has the potential to reduce the likelihood of disability for hundreds of survivors each year. It has been available for suitable stroke patients elsewhere in the UK for some time.

The pandemic led to a lot of changes in the health and social care system, which will undoubtedly have had an effect on the treatment of stroke survivors. People might have delayed seeking help or have had to wait for increasingly longer times for treatment, which will have worsened their condition. We also know that delayed discharge from hospital is increasing and that there is a lack of social care available to provide the necessary support to survivors.

However, as we have heard today and in so many other health debates, issues with psychological care for stroke survivors were an issue long before the pandemic. No health board in Scotland has a staffing level that meets clinical guidelines, and psychological care is a postcode lottery. That is completely unacceptable. Therefore, I urge the Scottish Government to ensure that stroke survivors get the cognitive, emotional and psychological help that they need.