Derry stroke survivor ‘shocked’ by lack of speech and language therapy available locally

A Derry man left unable to speak following a stroke wants to highlight the “shocking lack of speech and language therapy (SLT) locally for stroke survivors”.

The Stroke Association has also described speech and language therapy assessment and support for stroke patients in the North as “steadily declining over the past few years”.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, took his stroke at a local HYROX fitness event in early November.

“I realised my speech was affected right away,” he said. “I couldn’t talk. No words would come out of my mouth. There was total silence. It was weird. There was no sound at all. I couldn’t even say, ‘Hello’.

“I took the stroke and I couldn’t speak and they rushed me to hospital.

“I couldn’t even say ‘Hello’ to my wanes all over Christmas. There was no sound. 

“In the hospital I became concerned they were discharging me and I had no help with my lack of speech. They were telling me to go home but I couldn’t talk. At that stage I had been in hospital for two weeks and all I could say were single words; I couldn’t put a sentence together,” he said.

When he asked about SLT, the man said he was told there was none available for stroke survivors in the North West in the community. 

He added: “I was left with no option but to source private SLT and pay for it. I had to travel to Belfast for the hour-long sessions, which were very expensive. We were lucky we were able to afford it but I don’t think everyone could

“I really want to highlight the shocking lack of SLT locally for stroke survivors. There need to be services available. I am not the only person here who can’t or couldn’t speak.

“The whole time I was panicking and anxious. I was thinking, ‘What if I can’t speak ever again. 

“It left me very emotional. I was crying all the time. I was sitting on Christmas morning and the wanes were all excited and saying, ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy’ but I couldn’t speak. I was just smiling and hugging them but there was no actual sound coming out of my mouth,” he added.

The stroke survivor described feeling “very down and depressed”.

“It was definitely affecting me, my mental health to be honest,” he said. 

“After Christmas I started putting two and three words together. Then I found the joy. It was so funny because when I tried to speak, I was sort of spitting and my youngest boy said, ‘You’re speaking in my eye’. The tears were tripping us. But, I couldn’t speak properly for a long, long time.

“I have worked hard. I had to slow everything down. The speech therapist was very good. She explained I had a brain injury. I have no mobility issues; it was just my brain affecting my speech.

“I am still hurt about the way I was discharged from hospital. They saw I was ‘grand’ and they needed a bed and they said, ‘You’re going home now’.

“It is shocking, I was told in the Western Health and Social Care Trust, in the whole North West, I was told there was no SLT available. I’m not the only person who can’t talk after a stroke. I don’t know how many people are in my shoes, stroke survivors left unable to speak. Imagine being sent home and being unable to talk. I mean, I couldn’t say a word, not a word,” he explained.

The man said his frustration came from the fact “everything was on the tip of my tongue but my brain couldn’t process it”.

“I couldn’t get the words out. It was so, so hard, so, so hard,” he recalled.

“I was locked in my own body. My brain wasn’t processing. I was getting quite agitated. Even coming down stairs on Christmas morning I couldn’t even say Happy Christmas. 

“The lack of SLT for stroke survivors is something that needs to be looked at. What is the reason there is no SLT here? Is there a waiting list? If there is, why wasn’t I put on it? 

“I was just discharged from hospital and told there was no SLT available locally for stroke survivors.” 

It appears his is not an isolated case. 

The Stroke Association described speech and language therapy assessment and support for stroke patients in the North as “steadily declining over the past few years”.

Speaking to The Derry News, Lauren Shaw, the NI policy and influencing lead for the charity, which provides lifelong support for stroke survivors and their families, said: “Stroke survivors often tell us that struggling with communication can be an isolating and scary experience which negatively impacts their confidence when going about their usual daily lives.

“However, with the right support from speech and language therapists, communication problems following a stroke can improve. 

“However, access to timely speech and language therapy assessment and support has been steadily declining for stroke patients in Northern Ireland over the past few years, whilst remaining fairly consistent in England and Wales.

“It is vital that every stroke survivor gets the support they individually need to give them the best chance of recovery, no matter where they live,” said Ms Shaw. 

A Spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) said: “SLT provide assessment and rehabilitation for stroke patients who have speech and/or communication difficulties and/or eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.  

“Western Trust provides SLT to patients both while in hospital after their stroke and also when they are discharged home from hospital.  

“SLT post stroke is dependent on the needs of the patient but may include: therapy to help the stroke patient and their families/carers with language based tasks, including speaking, understanding , reading and writing; therapy to help the stroke patient improve their clarity of speech if their speech has become unclear or unintelligible after their stroke; and SLT recommendations for therapy and/or diet modifications to support safe eating, drinking and swallowing

 “Western Trust SLT endeavours to offer services to all stroke patients who are referred to their service within available staffing resources.

 “The Trust also works in partnership with the Stroke Association to help increase awareness, referrals, and uptake of the support services for patients in the community.”