Stroke Services in Surrey - Carers Questionnaire Survey

Healthwatch Surrey is an independent local watchdog that gives the people of Surrey a voice to improve, shape and get the best from health and social care services.

In January 2020 we are gathering feedback regarding stroke services in Surrey. Please complete this survey if you are the carer for someone who has had a stroke / TIA – please complete it on their behalf. We will share what everyone tells us with people in Surrey who plan and provide stroke services in order to try to improve services for everyone in the future.

The purpose is to identify themes from the experiences that people share with us; any stories will be anonymised before they are shared. Please tick the boxes below to indicate your consent to us sharing/ storing your responses.

Thank you in advance for your time.
Please answer this questionnaire before the 15th January 2020.

1.Please tick the boxes below to indicate your consent to us sharing/ storing your responses. You can withdraw or amend this consent at any time. Simply contact us and tell us how you would like to change the consent provided here.
I give my consent for Healthwatch Surrey to (tick all that apply):

Store what I have told you securely and use within Healthwatch Surrey

Share my experience with organisations that oversee, plan and deliver services (we will never reveal your name or any contact details without your permission)

2.Has the person you care for had a stroke or TIA? Please tick the relevant boxes.(Required.)

Stroke

TIA

both

4.Before they had their stroke/ TIA were they aware that they were at risk of having a stroke? If they were aware that they were at risk of having a stroke, what, if anything, were they doing to prevent having a stroke?

5.Which hospital/hospitals was the person you care for treated at? Please name them below.

6.Thinking about before they had their stroke - what happened before they had their stroke/TIA? Did they have any early warning signs?

7.What happened next – how did they get to hospital? If they went by ambulance, do you know how long they waited for the ambulance? How long? Do they know how long it took to get to hospital? How long?

8.Thinking about when they arrived at the hospital….. What happened when they first arrived at hospital? What happened next? Which tests/ scans did they have? How long did they wait for them to be done? How long did it take to hear the results?

9.Thinking about when they arrived at the hospital….. What happened when they first arrived at hospital? What happened next? Which tests/ scans did they have? How long did they wait for them to be done? How long did it take to hear the results?

10.Thinking now about the person you care for’s recovery, how long did they stay on the stroke unit? What assessments did they have? (These could be: Swallowing/continence/ mobility/ cognitive/ communication/ nutritional/hydration).

11.Were they moved to a rehab ward or community hospital? How long did they stay there?

12.What rehab therapy did they have when they were in hospital? (for example these could be setting goals that are then broken down into small, manageable steps. Exercises and activities to help you re-learn skills. Being shown new and different ways of doing things, such as dressing with one arm instead of two – including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and nursing care, depending on your particular needs).

13.Thinking about when the person you care for left hospital, did they have “Early Supported Discharge”? This is when you return home soon after having a stroke but receive the same level of therapy in your own home as those patients who stay in hospital.

14.Thinking about when they were discharged from hospital….

Did they have a follow up with specialist stroke rehabilitation services for assessment and ongoing management? Were you (their carer) given a named point of contact for stroke information, written information about their diagnosis and management plan, and sufficient practical training to enable you to provide care?

15.When they were discharged, what, if any, community rehab were they offered? How much support did they have from professionals? E.g. physiotherapy/ speech therapy. How soon after leaving hospital did they start the rehab? How long were they able to access this for? Was this satisfactory? Was this provided in their home, or, if not, how far did they have to travel to get to the services? Was this satisfactory?

16.What, if any, long term support has the person you care for had? E.g. support groups. Did they find these or did their GP/other medical professional help them find them? How far do they have to travel to get to the long term support? Is this satisfactory?

17.Thinking about their experience of the NHS as a whole, in relation to their stroke/TIA, what was positive about it? What was negative about it? What improvements do you think could be made?

18.The following questions are about you as a carer.

Are you a full time carer? Are you a registered carer? How did you register as a carer? Do you access any support as a carer e.g. through Action for Carers?
What are the positives about this support? What are the negatives?
What could be improved?

19.Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

20.What is your gender, and the gender of the person you care for?

22.How would you describe your ethnicity (e.g. White British, Black British etc)

23.How would you describe the ethnicity of the person you care for? (e.g. White British, Black British etc)

24.Had you heard of Healthwatch Surrey before today?

yes

no

25.Is there anything you’d like to tell us about this survey?

Thank you very much for your time. For more information about Healthwatch Surrey please visit www.healthwatchsurrey.co.uk