Fight to save a vital stroke recovery service in Portsmouth is stepped up with plea for long-term funding plan

The Stroke Association-run service was earmarked for closure earlier this year with the council saying it could no longer afford it while alternatives were provided by the NHS. Following a backlash, a six-month stay of execution was granted until the end of the year. But Labour city councillors, backed by Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, will urge the ‘vital’ service be given long-term backing through the motion proposed by opposition spokesman for health Graham Heaney.

For more read: Stroke Recovery Service in Portsmouth given six months to secure future as funding dries up

“This service is often the only ongoing support available to patients and their families once a patient has been discharged from the community stroke rehabilitation team,” he said.

“Residents should receive adequate support and access to vital services after a critical illness and the city council must do all it can to ensure residents have access to support services that give every survivor the best possible chance of recovery.”

The service costs the council £77,000 a year but the majority of this has come from one-off funding arrangements with just £16,000 allocated in the annual budget. But the decision to close the service has created a backlash with a petition against the move signed by more than 1,100 people.

Marie Cleaver, a stroke survivor, said the decision had ‘left us all in a deep hole and had taken away the ladder,’ adding: ‘This service is a lifeline and is so very needed.

“I feel the council have misunderstood what the service offers and the impact it has on the ongoing recoveries for so many stroke survivors. This is a service which cannot be matched elsewhere.”

Mr Morgan said: “The stroke service is vital to supporting people in Portsmouth to rebuild their lives after stroke. Without it, survivors will be at risk of not being able to access the support they need.”

NOW READ: Swimmers could soon be told not to go into the water in Southsea due to decline in seawater quality

At a meeting of the council’s health scrutiny committee last month, Andy Biddle, the council’s director for adult social care, said ‘a huge amount of anxiety’ had been created by the proposed closure but that alternatives existed.

He said: ‘Fully understanding that people are concerned whenever they see this kind of change and the anxiety around that, what we are saying is we can’t replicate this service but there are other services that are available for people in Portsmouth who’ve experienced a stroke.’

If passed, Cllr Heaney’s motion, which will be seconded by Labour group leader councillor Charlotte Gerada, will ‘request’ five years’ of funding for the service, for council leaders to meet with stroke survivors to understand its importance and for a budget review of potential knock-on effects of closing the service on other departments.