'Getting rid of the service is just awful' - Shropshire stroke survivors 'horrified' as council cuts funding for recovery service
Two Shropshire stroke survivors have called on Shropshire Council to reconsider cutting funding for a vital recovery service.
The Stroke Association has confirmed that cash-strapped Shropshire Council is cutting around £44,000 in funding to the charity, which is used to provide its Stroke Recovery Service (SRS) in the county.
The SRS offers personalised stroke recovery plans to survivors from day-one in hospital, and continues as they return to rebuild their lives at home.
Two Shropshire survivors, Chantal Whitting, 64, from Church Stretton, and Caroline Gallacher, 49 from Shrewsbury, have both urged the council to reconsider, detailing the “invaluable” support they received from the charity when they had strokes in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
Shropshire Council has told the Shropshire Star the decision was "not one we wanted to take by any stretch of the imagination", but pointed to its ongoing financial crisis as the reason behind the cut.
Chantal, has described her co-ordinator from the charity as her “angel” who supported her following strokes in 2023 that left her in a coma for two weeks.
She said: “I was so confused after my stroke. I had an operation to relieve pressure on my brain, then a shunt was inserted and then I had seizures and another stroke.
"When I came out of my coma, I had no idea what was going on and even weeks after I couldn’t make simple decisions - my brain was mush.”
Chantal went on to spend more than four months in hospital before returning home, during which time she met Glenda, her co-ordinator, from the Stroke Association.
