Health · Healthcare & Policy · 17 hrs ago
Only 6.4% of stroke survivors get recommended therapy, audit finds
A national audit found that only 6.4% of stroke patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received enough therapy in January to March this year.
Guidelines say patients should get three hours a day of physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy at least five days a week.
The average patient received just 40 minutes of therapy, down from 46 minutes in the previous quarter.
Only 68% of patients received continuing rehabilitation help after leaving hospital.
The Stroke Association says the shortfall can hinder recovery from a brain injury that may affect movement, speech and swallowing.
Stroke costs the UK an estimated £25.7bn a year, including social care and wider costs such as lost work.
Only 6.4% of stroke patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received the recommended amount of rehabilitation therapy in January to March, an audit found.
The recommended amount is three hours of therapy a day, at least five days a week.
The share was down from 7.5% in October to December 2024, and the average therapy time fell to 40 minutes.
The audit also found that 68% of patients received ongoing rehabilitation support after leaving hospital.
The Stroke Association said the figures showed that many stroke survivors were not getting the care they needed.
- Who
- Stroke patients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- What
- An audit found that only 6.4% received the recommended amount of rehabilitation therapy.
- When
- January to March 2026, the latest figures available in the report.
- Where
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Why
- The report describes how many patients received the recommended therapy; it does not state why the rate was low.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
7.5% of patients received the recommended amount of therapy.
The share receiving the recommended amount fell to 6.4%, and average therapy time was 40 minutes.
The Guardian reported the findings from the latest annual report of the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme.
- Recommended therapy
- Three hours a day, at least five days a week
- Patients receiving recommended amount
- 6.4%
- Previous quarter
- 7.5% in October to December 2024
- Average therapy time
- 40 minutes in January to March 2026
- Ongoing rehabilitation after discharge
- 68% of patients
What people are saying
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
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.