STROKES ‘COST UK ECONOMY BILLIONS’

STROKES cost the UK economy £26billion a year – and that is set to treble within 20 years, the Stroke Association warned yesterday.

With family having to quit jobs to look after loved ones, the charity wants urgent action.

An ageing population and rising care costs with more survivors are the main factors but a £60million investment in research now would lead to a saving of £10billion by 2035.

The association’s chief executive Juliet Bouverie said: “We need the best system to help survivors and their carers. Firstly, we need the Government to publish a new national plan for stroke to replace the current strategy which ends in December.

“This will drive action to help survivors return to work, live independently, and retake control of their lives while easing the enormous financial and emotional pressures that family members face. Research funding is also crucial.

“For every person living with stroke, just £48 a year is spent on research compared to £118 for dementia. This simply isn’t acceptable.”

More than 100,000 suffer a stroke every year in the UK and 1.2 million people are living with the effects.

Professor Anita Patel, who led the research, said: “Informal carers make a huge contribution to stroke care, and social care costs will increase substantially by 2035. This will present real societal challenges in future.

“However, there is great potential to alleviate some of these costs through increased investment in research.”