Thank you, Pharmacy Guild members
As we draw closer to the end of another COVID-disrupted year, Stroke Foundation would like to provide a heartfelt thank you to the frontline pharmacy owners and employees across Australia.
Our community includes more than 445,000 survivors of stroke all over the country and thousands of them experienced stroke for the first time during the pandemic. That meant navigating their recovery journey through lockdowns, which only added to the complexity that comes with recovering from stroke. For those living in our more rural and remote communities it has been even more difficult.
But we know that in most of our communities the pharmacies stayed open and the people behind the counter were always on hand to give advice, compassion, and care. For some people a trip to the pharmacy might have been some of the only real human contact that day or that week during lockdown.
We also know that the act of getting to the pharmacy was likely a mammoth task for a survivor of stroke to tackle through the challenges of COVID-19. That experience has amplified the need for a national stroke navigator service, which we are asking the next Federal Government to fund.
We believe this new StrokeConnect Navigator Program will make a significant difference to survivors of stroke in helping them find the support and services to enable their best recovery. From finding physios to pharmacies and getting access to support services and rehabilitation pathways, we can help our community live well after stroke by guiding them towards their area of need - rather than leaving them to figure it out by themselves.
The current discharge process for survivors of stroke is inconsistent and often completely absent. It is a huge gap in our health system but one we can start to address relatively quickly with Federal funding. Pharmacists play a vital role in supporting survivors of stroke with advice and medication management information. With your support, we believe we can reach 85 per cent of survivors and ensure they are connected to the services they need to recover and live well post stroke. We’d welcome your support to promote this need where possible.
Thank you all for the work you have done our community. You have made such an impact for so many people simply by keeping the doors open, being a friendly face and a trusted advisor through these challenging COVID-impacted times.
We look forward to working with you all to continue to support our stroke community. From all of us at Stroke Foundation, we wish you a safe, healthy, and restful holiday season.
Sharon McGowan
Chief Executive Officer
Stroke Foundation
