Improving services for younger stroke survivors and their families

8The majority of carers who were present atthe time of the stroke phoned their GP andrequested a home visit. Only five reportedthat they had phoned an ambulancethemselves without first contacting their GPand six went directly to Accident &Emergency (A&E). Reluctance to botherGPs or call out emergency services can bemisinterpreted by health professionals whomay not appreciate how difficult thesedecisions are for people who have noprevious experience of ill health:“It’s a problem to decide whether someone isreally ill or not… in hindsight I’d wished I’ddialled 999…”One carer spoke at length of her feelings ofguilt following her husband’s stroke – thehospital doctor had asked her why she hadwaited so long to seek help.Advice received by YSS who attended theirlocal health centre varied. One carerexplained that her husband had been toldto go straight to the hospital where he wasadmitted. However, he was not told that heshould not drive to the hospital. AnotherYSS who attended his GP was told that hehad probably had a slight stroke. He wassigned off work, given a prescription foraspirin, and told not to drive. He eventuallyreceived an appointment for an outpatientclinic more than six weeks after his stroke.Other YSS reported having been aware that‘something was wrong’ but had found itdifficult to persuade medical staff to exploretheir symptoms. One respondentexperienced particular difficulties when heattended an A&E Department with a sorehead and dizziness on New Year’s Day, anexceptionally busy time for hospital staff.Repeated visits to a busy A&E resulted in agreat deal of distress for the family beforehis stroke was finally identified.Relatives or carers who were not presentwhen the stroke occurred reported verydifferent experiences. The shock of cominghome to find someone unconscious orreceiving a telephone call from a stranger isconsiderable.Improving services for younger stroke survivors and their families