Stepping Out: A programme focusing on self-management after stroke

A person having a stroke in the UK now has a good chance of receiving some care in an acute stroke unit, which is a vast improvement on 10 years ago. However, stroke survivors can rarely access any specialist rehabilitation beyond the fi rst few months after stroke and many still believe they are ill-equipped to manage in the longer term (Department of Health, 2005). The last national stroke audit found that the number of specialist community stroke rehabilitation teams had actually declined over the last 5 years (Intercollegiate Working Party for Stroke, 2004). It seems that the attention of the stroke world has chiefl y focused on primary prevention and acute care, possibly to the detriment of developing better programmes to support individuals living with the consequences of stroke.