Stroke survivors call for funding

THE head of the Stroke Association of Victoria has said the organisation only has money to last until next July, so survivors, carers and volunteers are lobbying the State Government to commit more funding.

To further that cause, SAV CEO Tom Degonis visited the Bendigo Stroke Support Centre last week and met with Member for Bendigo West, Maree Edwards.

Mr Degonis said previous funding has allowed his organisation to establish five regional support centres and appoint vocation consultants in each area.

“What used to happen was, the first six weeks after a stroke, [there was] rehab, and then people were given a green card to go home,” he said.

“There were a lot of services you could get through the internet, but there was a lot of isolation and not much else in terms of joining up with people.

“What we do is you can link up with other people and that’s important, and then we provide services to give people the confidence to be able to get jobs.

“The problem is, come July next year, funding finishes. I don’t know what’s going to happen after July… because once you send them back home the isolation can lead to other problems like depression.”

According to Mr Degonis, this year SAV is providing regular support to 1300 people who have had strokes.

Local survivor Nick Martin said more needs to be done to prevent discrimination and help people who have had strokes get back in to work.

“Nowadays you have to disclose if you have any illnesses, as soon as [an employer] sees that word stroke, nobody wants to know,” he said.

“I just think it’s about time our State and Federal governments did more to help stroke survivors.

“I find my biggest wall is fatigue, and a lot of stroke survivors suffer from that. If we could work three, four hours a day on a part time basis, we could fill a lot of positions that are vacant.”

Ms Edwards said she will be advocating for funding to continue to SAV and the Bendigo support centre.

“This is a vital service, particularly for people in regional communities who don’t necessarily have access to other supports around stroke survival,” she said.

“I know how important this group is and how important the Stroke Association of Victoria is, so I’ll certainly be having some conversations with the minister regarding ongoing funding.

“There’s such a shortage of workers across all sectors. If they can support people who’ve had a stroke, who are still able to work, to get back into the workforce in some capacity, then that’s a brilliant outcome.”