Government urged to support ‘community life after stroke’ programme

The Stroke Association Support Network of Ghana (SASNET- Gh) has called on the government to support the ‘community life after stroke’ programme.

This, the Association said, could help reduce the impact of stroke, reduce stress on families, promote fast recovery and give hope to stroke survivors.

This was contained in a press release issued by the Association to mark this year’s National Stroke Survivors Day which is observed on March 16 annually.

This is the second anniversary of the celebration of the day which is aimed at giving real hope and connection to people living with stroke; those impacted with stroke; and to give people affected with stroke the assurance that there is still life after stroke.

The release said stroke is a complex medical condition but early recognition of the signs of stroke, treatment of stroke as an emergency case and admission of patient to a specialized stroke ward or unit and access to professional care can significantly reduce the impact of stroke on the sick and their families.

The release called on families to learn more about stroke to help reduce the impact of stroke adding that face drooping, arm weakness and speech slurred are dangerous signs that require immediate actions to get the victim to hospital for medical care.

The release said figures available indicate that about 9,021 stroke survivors in Ghana cannot access the right health care because of poverty, unavailability of rehabilitation centres in certain parts of the country, lack of drugs for treatment, and superstition.

The release said currently 1.6 million people in Ghana are living with stroke and called on the government to adopt the Global Stroke Bill of Right.

The Association called on all Ghanaians to show massive support to all persons affected with stroke whenever they encounter them.

Source: GNA