Global Bill of Rights for Stroke Patients and Carers

Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Face-to-face meeting on 20th September in Vienna

                                                                                                                                                                        Courtesy Photo

Ludhiana, 18th September, 2013:(Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria):Stroke or brain attack is the second leading cause of death. More than two-thirds of the deaths due to stroke occur in developing countries like India. In Ludhiana alone every year 140 new cases of stroke occur for a 1 lakh population.  Twenty five percent of the new stroke cases in Ludhiana are below 49 years of age which is highest in the country.

File photo

DrJeyaraj D Pandian, Professor and Head of Neurology at CMC Ludhiana stated that about half of the patients with stroke are left disabled.  Stroke in a young patient will lead to devastating results like loss of job, income and finally poverty. In our country there is no social support for the stroke survivors.
DrPandian who chairs the World Stroke Campaign of World Stroke Organization (WSO) said that the WSO has taken an initiative to develop a stroke survivor/carer Global Bill of Rights. Six stroke survivors and one carer from the following countries are lending their support to WSO: Australia, Brazil, India, Norway, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. The first face-to-face meeting of the core group will be held on 20th September in Vienna, Austria along with the 2013 World Congress of Neurology.
From India, DrJeyaraj D Pandian through the World Stroke Campaign will be overseeing the development of the Bill. MsShefali Chopra, Manager, Tata Motors Limited, Ludhiana will be representing India in the core group. Dr Erin Lalor, CEO of National Stroke Foundation of Australia will be leading the discussions.

Ms Chopra in her statement mentioned that “It is a really a great initiative by WSO and it will be beneficial for people living in developing countries. There is lack of awareness of stroke in our country.  My mother suffered stroke and we got it recognized after 48hours and by that time her vision got hampered. The best part is that WSO is taking inputs from stroke survivors and carers across the world and hence the final bill would cater to the actual needs of the patients particularly in developing countries.” 
Dr Pandian added that the Bill will cover the rights of stroke patients in acute care, prevention, rehabilitation and long term care including social support. This Global Bill of Rights will be used across the world to improve the awareness of stroke and also to influence the policy makers.