NHS rehabilitation care staff shortage fails stroke patients, say health leaders
The NHS is failing stroke patients and limiting their chances of recovery because of a shortage of rehabilitation care staff, health leaders have said,More people are surviving strokes than ever before in the UK,But their hopes of getting better are being dashed because of a lack of physiotherapists and other specialist staff, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology,National guidelines say people who have had a stroke should receive therapy-based rehabilitation for three hours a day, five days a week,But data suggests that, on average, people only receive rehab three to four days a week in hospital, and one to two days once they are discharged, the CSP and Acpin said.
Ash James, the director of practice and development at the CSP, said despite record numbers of registered physiotherapists, stroke services were unable to provide the care patients needed because they were chronically understaffed.He said: “Something is going seriously wrong in our health system if the NHS is failing to turn workforce growth into the posts required to meet even the minimum standards for stroke rehabilitation.“It is deeply concerning that our members are going above and beyond to advocate for their patients and secure the staffing they need, only to have their concerns dismissed.”A national survey of stroke physiotherapists working in 159 NHS services across the UK found workforce shortages across different aspects of stroke care.These included community stroke services, acute stroke teams and community rehabilitation support.
Findings from the 2025 stroke physiotherapy workforce survey suggested there were 26% fewer physiotherapists than national guidance recommends in community stroke services.Acute stroke teams were also operating with 15% fewer physiotherapists than recommended, and community rehabilitation support workers were 36% below guidance levels.The Acpin chair, Adine Adonis, said: “More people are surviving strokes in the UK than ever before, but survival must be matched with the chance to recover well.These findings highlight a stark and urgent gap in the number of physiotherapists and support staff available to provide the specialist rehabilitation that stroke survivors rely on.This is not good enough.
“It is failing people every day and limiting their potential for recovery.We need immediate action to ensure every stroke survivor receives the physiotherapy support they deserve.”Juliet Bouverie, the chief executive of the Stroke Association, said about 240 people in the UK had their lives “potentially destroyed” by stroke every day.She said: “Stroke survivors are at risk of being unable to see, speak, move or even swallow, which has a huge impact on their ability to enjoy a full and independent way of life.“We know that early and bespoke rehabilitation, coupled with ongoing support, can vastly improve the physical effects of stroke, and therefore also support good emotional wellbeing.
But there is no escaping the fact that progress to improve the availability and intensity of rehabilitation is far too slow,“Much greater investment in both people and processes to meet the national guidelines of care are desperately needed to ensure stroke survivors are supported both in hospital and the community for as long as they need it,”The Department of Health and Social Care said every stroke survivor deserved the support they needed to recover but too many people were not getting it,“We’re working to fix that,” a spokesperson said,“We’re rolling out specialist stroke rehabilitation in people’s homes, so more people can get the right care without having to rely on hospital stays.
We’ve also set clear standards for what good stroke care looks like.”The government was also committed to cutting deaths from stroke by a quarter over the next 10 years, the spokesperson added.
Starmer’s cost of living adviser urges him to extend fuel duty cut in light of Iran war
A cut to fuel duty should be extended to reflect the rise in petrol prices, the government’s cost of living champion has said.Richard Walker, the executive chair of the supermarket chain Iceland, urged Keir Starmer not to raise the levy in September, in light of the conflict in the Middle East.The strait of Hormuz, a crucial trading artery between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has been blockaded since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the end of February.A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and its closure has sent global prices soaring, putting pressure on the world economy.Fuel duty is frozen until September, when the government will review any rise
Labour challenges Farage over cost of private jet trip to Maldives
Labour has queried Nigel Farage’s claim that a return trip to the Maldives on a private jet linked to a billionaire donor cost as little as £25,000 as the Reform leader attempted to reach the Chagos Islands.Farage initially recorded his two-day trip to the Maldives as costing £12,500 funded by Thailand-based Reform megadonor Christopher Harborne, before upgrading this to £25,000 in the latest register of interests.The Guardian reported that ownership of the private jet was linked to Harborne, who has given the party more than £12m.However, Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, wrote to Farage on Thursday arguing that chartering a private jet of a similar size would cost many times more than the sum declared.“According to publicly available flight logs, this was an 11,000-mile round trip, lasting just over 23 hours, using a model of plane that is currently advertised on multiple private jet websites as costing at least $11,500 (£8,500) per hour to charter,” she said
Starmer must call energy summit akin to 2008 crisis response, Labour MP says
Keir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran.The MP for East Thanet said the impending energy crisis caused by the war was “as big as the financial crash” and required “a response of equal magnitude”. She said the increase in prices would not be temporary or regional, and that “economic pain, falling living standards and social anger create fertile ground for extremist politics”.While she said the government’s convening of 35 countries to discuss the reopening of the strait of Hormuz was a good step, a bigger global response was needed on energy
Drip-feed of Reform UK controversies puts party’s policy drive in shade
It was a week that started with a candid admission from Nigel Farage. When asked if Reform UK’s vetting process was finally up to scratch, the party leader said: “I accept that at the last general election basically there was no vetting really.” He was speaking after the latest of what a senior colleague had described as a “series of abhorrent incidents”.That latest incident had involved a Welsh Senedd candidate, Corey Edwards, who was forced to step down last Friday after a picture of him appearing to do a Nazi salute surfaced online.Yet while Farage went on to tell reporters at a Heathrow press conference on Tuesday that they would find Reform was “doing pretty well now”, just two days later another frontline party member was in hot water
UK politics Q&A, as it happened: Andrew Sparrow answers your questions on Starmer, Reform and more
Reform UK’s housing spokesperson has been sacked from his role after he described the Grenfell Tower fire as a “tragedy” but said that “everyone dies in the end”.The NHS is bracing for the longest strike yet by resident doctors after last-ditch talks failed, prompting Wes Streeting to accuse the medics of suffering from “delusion”.Nick Candy, the honorary treasurer of Reform UK and a major donor, has sold his mansion in the Chelsea district of London for a reported £275m.Thank you for the questions everone. Happy Easter
Reform donor Nick Candy sells Chelsea mansion for reported £275m
Nick Candy, the honorary treasurer of Reform UK and a major donor, has sold his mansion in the Chelsea district of London for a reported £275m.The property developer declined to comment on the transaction, which was first reported by Bloomberg, but it is believed to be the most expensive on record in London and one of the biggest in the world.Providence House was the location of a fundraising event for Donald Trump in 2024, attended by the US president’s son Donald Trump Jr.The buyer of the Grade II-listed mansion, located in the grounds of Royal Chelsea Hospital with a lake and a swimming pool, has not been made public.The Land Registry records its current owner as Providence House LLP, a partnership controlled by Candy
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