Stroke care is worse in the community

Stroke patients are significantly less satisfied with the services they receive in the community than hospital care, a Healthcare Commission follow-up survey has found.

The study finds that 34 per cent of patients rated their care as fair, poor or very poor, one year or more after leaving hospital. An earlier survey of the same patients found that 12 per cent rated their hospital care in these categories.

More than a quarter of respondents said they needed low-level social care, such as help with cleaning and shopping, but more than half of these had received none.

Almost 60 per cent said they had not been involved in their care as much as they would have wanted since leaving hospital.

● From www.healthcarecommission.org.uk