MAY 2001 THE CHEPSTOW AND CALDICOT CARERS' SUPPORT GROUP The Resource Centre, 5a. Church Road, Caldicot. NP26 4BP. Telephone 01291-420666 or 01291-420602 The April meeting was a hectic one but we had a good opportunity to meet the managers and/or supervisors of the Home Care Service and the Private Agencies who also provide home care. They came along to meet carers, and reassure us that the problems that some carers have been experiencing were behind them. Lets hope that they are. In the afternoon we had Terri Williams from the Stroke Association talking about Health Promotion and Strokes. Over the years the role of the Stroke Association has changed from just offering information about strokes to a now campaigning organisation, telling the public how not to have a stroke, raising the profile of their work amongst the public and more recently at the National Assembly in Cardiff. Some of the statistics she gave us were quite frightening. Each year, 100,000 people suffer their first stroke. 10,000 of these are under 55! She also stated that at present, stroke care is a post-code lottery, ie. depends on where you live as to what treatment you are offered. This is why the association now talks about "Stroke Pathways" which is the way that all services should act when dealing with someone who has had a stroke — from the GP and the ambulance staff that arrive to take the person to hospital, to the treatment that is given in hospital and the follow up. Each stroke victim should be handled in the same way. She also said that the policy of the Stroke Association is for all strokes to be admitted to hospital to be assessed. The GOOD NEWS is that Gwent Health are taking on board the idea of treating all people through the 'Pathway' approach. The 'risk factors' of having a stroke include: High blood pressure. A person's Blood pressure is expressed as two figures, and an acceptable blood pressure is 140/90 or less. EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW WHAT THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE IS. If your blood pressure is around 160/95 then it is borderline. In these circumstances you should lose weight, take less salt in your diet, exercise, and if you smoke, STOP! Smoking causes furring up of the arteries and makes the blood more likely to clot. Lack of exercise. Any exercise you take should make you become warm and slightly out of breath, and should be done five times a week. However, any exercise is better than none. Too much alcohol. Unhealthy diet. Eating too much salt and fatty foods. If you are a diabetic you have an increased risk. A 'TIA' (Transient Ischaemic Attack) is a small stroke where the symptoms disappear within 24 hours and everything gets back to normal. The Stroke Association also provide a Dysphasia Support Service in various areas. There is rumour of one starting in Chepstow. This offers support to people who have lost the ability to speak or understand speech because of a stroke. They aim to improve the quality of their lives by rebuilding self-confidence, improving moraband supporting their families. They do this through home visits, group work and social events. Another service they offer is Welfare grants for equipment, holidays etc. These are means-tested so eligible people would be on a low income or income support. If you need any leaflets or more information about strokes, contact me or ring the Stroke Association in Cardiff on 02920-521728. Our next meeting is on Thursday May 3rd at Boverton House from 10:00 am - 3.30pm. Our speaker in the afternoon will be Elaine Smith who is coming to talk about Kineisiology. You will have to come and listen to find out what all that is about - it will be very interesting! 'Pampering' takes place at each monthly meeting and consists of aromatherapy, reflexology, healing, manicures and massage. This takes place all morning and we have a talk in the afternoon, so come along and join in however you like. There is no charge for the day, but we our own baguettes or jacket potatoes for our lunch. For transport to meetings contact Nan Smith on 421665 or Alison Short on 623771. Best wishes, Patsy Lewis.