Conversation project aids stroke patients

MORE than 70 per cent of stroke patients who have taken part in a new project in Rotherham say the scheme has made them significantly happier.

The Communication Partners project has now been running for a year. Over the past 12 months it has seen 25 volunteers become trained to provide support to stroke patients with communication problems.

Volunteers are trained to use symbols, images, gestures and text to hold conversations with more than 35 patients suffering from aphasia – a disorder which can affect how they speak, read and write.

Gemma Morgan, a speech and language therapist for NHS Rotherham Community Health Services, which runs the project, said: “We are so pleased at what the stroke survivors, volunteers and staff have achieved.

“Not only have we been able to help stroke survivors improve their communication, they are meeting new people, taking up new activities, becoming more sociable and increasing their confidence as a result.

“Many of the volunteers hadn’t had first-hand experience of dealing with stroke survivors, so it’s really encouraging that they are giving up their time and learning about such an important condition.”

Patients taking part in Communication Partners are first visited by a co-ordinator from The Stroke Association.

Findings from the first year of the scheme show that 71 per cent of stroke patients involved felt they had “significant” improvements in their mood and felt more “understood, calm, intelligent and optimistic.”

Alison Fletcher from The Stroke Association, said: “Over 250,000 people in the UK have aphasia, which is one third of stroke survivors.

“It can make life difficult and be a very frustrating and upsetting time.”