The Stroke Association Avis 8

The support and response was just what I needed....my advisor was Murial (gtr Manchester)....I have nothing but praise for this service, 10/10, please keep helping 🙏

I had a strok on the 29 of 8 2025 I was set home on 26 the of 9 I had one phone call and that was it I have no help for over 6 weeks of being home that are meant to phone and check on you once a week and give help but I have had no help or calls in this time

I understand that everybody’s experience could be different but Helen and Louise were awesome for me and really helped me.

I can only reflect my experience of the Stroke Association of South Warwickshire.
Their representative has been so helpful, informative and understanding and has given me much useful information that has helped me to look after my elderly mother.
I understand this organisation is being disbanded in the next few weeks due to lack of funds, which is a great shame and very disappointing.

The Stroke Association (SA) is perhaps the best of all the stroke related organisations I've interacted with thus far. The staff I've talked to have all been professional, patient and knowledgeable.

Problems arise, however, from the way the SA redirects stroke patient relatives to other organisations, for example, the organisation 'Different Strokes', who, to this day have still not replied to my messages.

Recently the SA referred me to another agency that was also inappropriate. It's not simply a case of wasted time, but rather a route to heightened emotional stress and mental exhaustion from needing to repeatedly explain the traumatic details of a relative's stroke and how it's impacting on their lives, and the effect it's having on myself, to every new person that I speak to, only to be told at the end: 'I'm sorry, we can't help you, but we can refer you to another organisation that can. Would you like their phone number?'.

And so it continues - a fragmented, virtue-signalling maze that is exhausting to navigate and in the end doesn't offer any meaningful support. The UK's betrayal of stroke victims and their relatives is a moral crime.

I Contacted the stroke association in my area by email on dozens of occasions for over a year and they all went ignored, also denied by the co-ordinator who eventually phoned me, with an unnecessary arrogance insisting she never received any ,therefore suggesting I am incapable of even that very simple task, which I take exception too.

So I recently phoned several stroke association areas from Scotland to London and asked one simple question that none of them could answer , (which in itself does not instill confidence) on the services they claim they offer. It reads: THIS SERVICE OFFERS.-NO:5- "Assistance with accessing local leisure, social activities and self management tools"...... Now my question to all was what does that mean? Have you direct access/connections to these facilities social/leisure which I can avail of, or do I choose a social activity/leisure and see if you can help me organise/arrange/engage it. ? Or is it I choose a leisure or social activity and you get me transport if I have none? Is that the "access" you provide? This is misleading, confusing and obtuse.

The lady (J) I spoke to in Manchester north was very understanding and admitted she could not offer clarity and could see why others also failed and so she would email a co-ordinator to explain . That is where the issue arises . I was contacted by a Miss CB and immediately there was a resentful tone and manner . It suggested I was insulting by daring to ask for an explanation . The woman had a very negative inference throughout and kept repeating my name over and over at times twice three times in a sentence as if speaking and trying to control a petulant child. Regardless of this peculiar behaviour she also could not explain simply what NO:5"Assistance with accessing local leisure social activities"...... meant ,instead trying to ask questions about what I wanted specifically. What I want is irrelevant , I am simply inquiring what NO:5 means and still evasion and deferring from that was all that was offered, only then to be told "this is all getting very heavy" !!

Why a request for information becomes "heavy" is when you are unable to provide a simple answer and you are avoiding the question because you do not know the answer, and realising the truth, that you know there is no explanation, is frankly embarrassing and so you deflect and become confrontational.
"THIS SERVICE OFFERS" brought me nothing but anxiety and stress when I only wanted an explanation .When a trained co-ordinator dealing with a stroke survivor has this manner, attitude, outlook and demeanour it is a very sad thing for the stroke association as a whole.
Now left with no answers ,no explanation ,from anyone and without any clarity, only to be made ashamed and hurt at the inquiry, I am seriously regretting asking for what I consider to be the most slightest of help.
I will not engage or interact with the stroke association again because this interaction was unnecessarily unsavoury hurtful and disappointing to the point where it will leave a distinctly poor and lasting impression on both me and my carer who was present throughout my very simple inquiry. I wish this platform would allow the mentioning of those responsible as they need to be named and shamed.

The facts now seem to be that "This service offers" is nothing more than a self aggrandising statement , a self complimenting statement which has no true merit other than to enlarge and fluff a truly sparse service or perhaps to inflate and falsely impress with half truths. Indeed it may be more accurate to suggest "This service offers" no:5 is simply a "ring and ride" to social/leisure activities the stroke assoc: have no connection with whatsoever and this "access" is nothing more than informing those who are not aware of the ring and ride that it exists.

Having had this dreadful experience I now disbelieve and doubt every service they offer as merely an inflated ego about their actual ability to help in certain. if not most cases, as all the services they claim they offer are open to interpretation as they are so vague and misleading, as was NO:5, almost as vague and unclear as the co-ordinator CB without the attitude.

Emailed them for advice on getting help for my mother who had a stroke years ago. The response I got back was very informative and gave us several options to explore. Was very impressed.

Scammers. Do not give them any details. Specially in Coventry area.
If you want to know more details about their “charity” they will refuse and will be very rude.