Oct 21, 2020
Dear Friends,
We are in very difficult times. We have never seen a pandemic like this affecting our everyday lives. I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. We want to let you know that SAFE is here for you and continuing to work despite all the problems around.
While COVID 19 is at the forefront of our thinking, stroke still exists. We know that many of you will be at the front line of services and will be seeing the impact of COVID on individuals who have suffered from stroke. We want to hear from you, we want to know what is happening to stroke survivors in your country, we want to know what is happening to your stroke support organisations and we want to know your ideas as to how we can help.
In addition to finding out how COVID 19 is affecting you and your country, SAFE has adapted its work for 2020. Unfortunately, we have not been able to meet with our members through our usual regional meetings, but we have managed to been up, virtually, June and we will again in November. We have delayed the launch of our economic burden of stroke report until November year. The SAFE General Assembly will be held in November this year and we will do this virtually as we are not able to gather you together for a face to face meeting. I am also excited to let you know that that our first European life after stroke forum is going virtual! The date of 12 March 2021 remains the same and we will share more information with you over the coming months. We will fund one representative from your SSO, and one therapist or nurse from your country. The conference will also be open generally to delegates interested in improving life after stroke services. More information, please click here.
What is happening in the world is a lot for everyone to take in just now, and everyone is having to rapidly adapt their lives on a daily basis. I would like to thank all of you for all the exceptional work you are doing. Please continue to keep well and be safe, do what you can to ensure the survival and sustainability of your stroke support organisation, and we hope to hear from you soon.
With best wishes,
Jon Barrick
President
On behalf of the Board of SAFE
Sep 30, 2020
The European Stroke Organisation-World Stroke Organization 2020 conference has gone digital!
This is a great opportunity to hear about the new and exciting international stroke research that is happening. Here is some more information for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBTZ0G1zR3A
SAFE will also have a digital booth at the conference – please visit us!
if you are interested in attending, click here to register: https://eso-wso-conference.org/
Sep 24, 2020
We are delighted to introduce to two new recruits to SAFE’s team!
Caroline is joining us as our new communications manager and Lora as our new campaigns manager. Please join us in warming welcoming them to the SAFE family.
Click here to find our more!
Sep 18, 2020
SAFE recently co-hosted the Stroke Action Plan for Europe ‘kick off’ meeting with the European Stroke Organisation. The Plan 2018-2030 outlines a set of key recommendations that if implemented would improve the care and outcomes for stroke patients and stroke survivors across the whole care pathway.
We brought together stroke support organisation and national scientific societies from all over Europe to discuss how the Plan could be implemented across all European countries. This is a very exciting step towards providing better support to stroke patents and stroke survivors. We look forward to sharing more information with you over the coming months.
Here is the press release for more information
Jul 1, 2020
Today we are launching a call for abstracts for the Ist European Life After Stroke Forum which will be held on 12 March 2021.
Our conference programme covers a range of topical issues in life after stroke as well as cutting-edge developments in response to COVID-19. The programme will comprise keynote lectures by eminent invited speakers supplemented by contributed talks and a poster session. Our draft programme is here.
We are now seeking abstracts for the Life After Stroke Forum, which may give those interested an opportunity to present either a ten-minute oral presentation or a poster presentation.
We are calling on for applications in two areas:
- Scientific applications: this may be for completed for ongoing trials and studies in the broad area of life after stroke.
- Grab and Steal: this is to share experiences of service developments in life after stroke where these original ideas and innovative practices could be used by others.
For more information on how to apply – click here.
“Life after stroke is a neglected area of the stoke care pathway. It is a particularly important issue for stroke survivors and their carers.
To address this issue, SAFE is organising a first of its kind event in Europe – a one day Life After Stroke Forum.
This will create an opportunity for those who have an interest in this area, whether from a research, policy, advocacy, or support oriented perspective, to come together to share and network.
As chair of the European Life After Stroke Forum scientific conference committee I am delighted that SAFE is launching its call for abstracts today. I am looking forward to receiving excellent applications, whether scientifically, or service development focused, from all over Europe”. Professor Avril Drummond
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Jun 16, 2020
There is no denying it – we are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic has turned lives upside down, prevented people from connecting with friends and family, and for many it has put plans and goals on hold.
Different Strokes have recognised that lockdown has left many from the stroke survivor community feeling increasingly isolated and without the vital support that they need. Support groups have been unable to meet and the networks that we once relied on have been harder to access through the new virtual world.
In response to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, they have developed a brand-new range of virtual services to ensure you are still able to access the support that you need from the comfort of home. In partnership with PhysioFunction and a talented group of exercise instructors, they are now delivering online exercise sessions at 11am every weekday morning. Not only are these sessions specifically tailored for stroke survivors, but they are set at five different levels, reflecting the large variations in stroke survivors’ physical condition and mobility post-stroke.
The sessions range from being wholly seated exercises for people who have no or heavily restricted movement, to advanced classes for people who can walk independently for long distances. This gives all stroke survivors the opportunity to undertake a form of exercise which is appropriate to their needs.
All the instructors have experience in delivering sessions for Different Strokes local groups and are therefore highly familiar in how to tailor their classes for people with a disability.
To further support the wellbeing of stroke survivors, they have also launched weekly health and wellbeing sessions and are producing weekly interviews with stroke survivors, talking about how they are coping in lockdown and sharing their tips.
Austin Willett, CEO of Different Strokes says: “We know from feedback we have received from stroke survivors how important it is right now for people to be able to exercise and to get advice and support from each other. We are therefore very pleased that we have been able to put these new initiatives together. We are very grateful for the support we have had from other organisations and individuals to develop these in a very short time period, and it is clear from the initial response that they are of considerable benefit. Furthermore, we don’t just see these as temporary services during the lockdown period, and we will be looking to source funding to enable us to continue these in the long-term, so that people who are unable to access a local group or who are isolated in other ways, will still be able to benefit from the services that we offer.”
You can access these resources using the following links:
Different Strokes Website: www.differentstrokes.co.uk
Different Strokes YouTube: http://bit.ly/2LmFF8F
Different Strokes Facebook: https://bit.ly/3dK8cPw
About Different Strokes
Different Strokes are a charity based in the UK. The organisation is run by younger stroke survivors for younger stroke survivors. They aim to promote independent stroke recovery and help younger stroke survivors and their families to reclaim their lives.”
