Awareness Raising

Background
Stroke is the third biggest cause of death in the UK and the
largest single cause of severe disability. Each year more than
150,000 people will suffer from a stroke. 25% of these will be
under 65 and 10,000 under 55. The cost to the NHS is over
£2.8 billion.

Aims
1. To publicise in Haringey and North London the National
Stroke Strategy, launched by the Government in December
2007. In particular to improve public awareness of the
risk factors and symptoms of a stroke, and what action
to take.

2. To ensure that people who experience a stroke are at
the centre of decisions about their treatment and are
involved in the design of services.

3. To raise awareness of services available in Haringey for
younger stroke survivors through Different Strokes, HALS
and the Library Service.

The Issue
Lack of awareness of stroke and its consequences is a
significant problem. People do not know what a stroke is,
what the symptoms are, or that it is a treatable disease
that warrants the same response as a heart attack. Nor do
they know what their own risk of having a stroke is, how to
reduce that risk, or that stroke is largely preventable.
Knowledge about stroke is also low among health and social
care professionals¹.

Key Facts ²

• The failure to recognise stroke symptoms as a medical
  emergency – including by NHS Direct and GPs – can
  mean that urgent medical treatment for stroke is
  delayed. ³ A MORI poll commissioned by the Stroke
  Association in 2005 suggested that only half of people
  asked can correctly identify what a stroke is, with only
  40 per cent correctly naming three stroke symptoms,
  and a quarter did not believe that any specialised
  treatment or care could make a difference⁴ and only a
  third of respondents would call an ambulance or go to
  hospital.⁵
  
• Nearly one in five GPs said they do not refer around a
  fifth of cases of a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or
  stroke. Just over half of GPs said they would refer
  someone with a suspected stroke immediately.⁶


• People who are economically disadvantaged have a higher
  rate of stroke, as well as heart disease and other related
  diseases. People of African or Caribbean ethnicity are at
  higher risk of having a stroke. Incidence rates, adjusted
  for age and sex, are twice as high in black people as for
  white people.⁷


• More women who have strokes die from them compared
  with men. However, stroke is more common in men
  compared with women by the age of 75.⁸


• People who are overweight or obese, and who also suffer
  from hypertension, have a higher risk of ischaemic stroke.
  


^{1 National Stroke Strategy 2007 Chapter 1 p15
2 National Stroke Strategy Chapter 1 p14
3 National Audit Office, 2005, Reducing Brain Damage: Faster
access to better stroke care
4 MORI poll, 2005; commissioned by the Stroke Association
5 National Audit Office, 2005, Reducing Brain Damage: Faster
access to better stroke care
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 World Health Organization, 2004, The atlas of heart disease
and stroke}

Haringey Council
The 2007 Stroke Strategy is a significant milestone in the
prevention and treatment of stroke. But its success is
dependent on raising awareness. Haringey Council is taking an
encouragingly pro-active role in supporting the Stroke Strategy.

The Mayor’s Charity for 2008-09
The Haringey Mayor, Councillor Alan Dobbie, chose
Different Strokes London North Group to be his charity for
2008- 2009. The Group were represented on the Mayor’s
Charity Committee which organised fundraising and
awareness raising events throughout the year.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee
The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee carried out a
review of stroke prevention in the Borough. This bought
together Local Councilors, the PCT, the North Middlesex
Hospital, GP's and representatives of stroke groups
including Different Strokes. There was good publicity in
the Councils own magazine and Haringey and Islington
have collaborated to produce posters for local buses and
tube stations. (Stroke prevention study)