The average age of people in England who have a stroke for the first time has fallen over the past decade, new figures show.
The NHS Act FAST campaign used Public Health England data to highlight that the numbers dropped from 71 to 68 for men, and 75 to 73 for women between 2007 and 2016.
Responding to the figures, Prof Karen Middleton, chief executive of the CSP, said:
‘More lives than ever are being saved, which is very welcome news, but it is critical that we do not then waste those lives after stroke.
‘Two-thirds of people leave hospital with a disability and 45% of people who leave hospital after having had a stroke feel abandoned when they cannot access high quality rehabilitation services.
‘We must do more for those people to ensure no-one misses out, and with the average age of stroke survivors falling, the case is ever more urgent.
‘We cannot have people losing 20 years or more of their working lives for entirely avoidable reasons.
‘Rehabilitation gives people back their independence and helps them get back into work and it must be available to all who need it.’
Nottingham physiotherapist and stroke survivor, Rob Goodwin, was featured in coverage of the statistics by the BBC.
Read the story on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42871861
Get involved in the #RehabMatters campaign: http://www.csp.org.uk/press-policy/policy/rehab-matters
Note to editors
For further media information about the CSP please call the CSP press office on 020 7306 1111 or email pressoffice@csp.org.uk. Out of hours please call Jon Ryan, head of press and PR on 07917 091 200.
1. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is the UK’s professional, educational and trade union body. We have more than 57,000 members, including chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and support workers.
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