Only 6.4% of stroke survivors receive enough therapy, finds ‘damning’ report

Stroke Association says widespread lack of rehabilitation hinders patients’ chances of regaining physical and mental function

Fewer than one in 15 stroke survivors are getting the amount of therapy the NHS should provide to maximise their chances of recovery, a report has revealed.

The figure was a “damning” indictment of the widespread lack of rehabilitation for patients, which was hindering their chances of regaining physical and mental function, the Stroke Association said.

Only 6.4% of those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who have a stroke receive the three hours a day of rehabilitation therapy at least five days a week to which they are entitled.

The finding is disclosed in the latest annual report of the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP), which is based on stroke care data from hospitals in the three countries.

Almost 100,000 people a year in the UK have a stroke. It is the single largest cause of complex disability and can leave survivors struggling to walk, talk or swallow. The ageing population, and an increased number of people with high blood pressure or diabetes, could cause the annual figure to rise to 115,483 by 2030.

All stroke patients should get three hours of physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy to help them recover from the brain injury they have suffered, whether they are still in hospital or have returned home to continue their rehabilitation.

That is set out in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines intended to guide NHS practice in England and Wales. They are also followed in Northern Ireland.

However, during January to March this year – the latest figures available – only 6.4% of patients received that amount, down from the 7.5% who did so in October to December 2024.

The average amount of therapy stroke survivors in the three countries received in the first quarter of this year was 40 minutes, six minutes less than in late 2024. Some patients received only 15.2 minutes, while the maximum received was still only 57.3 minutes, the SSNAP audit showed.

In addition, only 68% of patients received continuing help with their rehabilitation once they had been discharged from hospital, the report found.

“These damning figures expose the deeply troubling reality that too many vulnerable stroke survivors are being left without the care and support they need, both in the critical days after their stroke and in the months and years that follow,” said Juliet Bouverie, the Stroke Association’s chief executive.

“The brain injury caused by stroke can change every aspect of a person’s life in an instant and last for a lifetime. Stroke is both a medical emergency and a long-term condition which touches on almost every aspect of NHS and social care.

“Yet too often, our health and care system focuses on treating the emergency rather than considering the importance of what comes after that – and these shocking statistics reveal the true extent of that.”

Bouverie said services for stroke survivors “are already overstretched to breaking point” as the charity published a new report showing that stroke costs the UK an estimated £25.7bn a year.

More than half that sum (£13.7bn) goes on the social care costs of helping survivors. The wider societal costs, such as people no longer being able to work and relatives having to give up work to care for survivors, amount to another £6.7bn. Welfare benefits to patients and income tax not collected because they had had to stop work came to £2.4bn alone, the charity estimated.

The Department of Health and Social Care did not comment on the overwhelming majority of stroke patients not receiving enough rehabilitation. Instead it stressed the NHS’s efforts to improve care.

“Hundreds of people every day suffer a stroke, and the NHS is working hard to get them the rapid support and long-term rehabilitation they will often require,” a spokesperson said.

“In our 10-year health plan last year, we pledged to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within a decade, and our cardiovascular disease modern service framework, published in July, aims to accelerate that progress.

“The NHS is also working to increase the delivery of thrombolysis and thrombectomy rates as a key intervention to support improved outcomes in patients who have had a stroke,” they added.