A coalition of leading health charities and professional bodies is demanding that access to rehabilitation is recognised as a human right under Scots Law.

The ‘Right to Rehab’ coalition, spearheaded by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, last week took its campaign to MSPs.

Joined at the Scottish parliament on Thursday (31^st August) by people living with long-term conditions, the coalition says inclusion of the right to rehabilitation in Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill could be ‘transformational’.

Rehabilitation – whether it’s physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy or emotional support – is said by coalition members to be crucial in helping people rebuild their lives when recovering from a health condition.

However, tens of thousands of people across Scotland are thought not to be receiving the support they need after having a stroke.

Jane-Claire Judson, Chief Executive of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, says it is “entirely unacceptable” that so many people struggle to access the rehabilitation they need to live full lives.

The coalition is asking the public to sign its petition and get behind the call for everyone in Scotland, regardless of condition or location, to be able to access the rehabilitation they need for as long as they need it.

 

A legal requirement to rehabilitate

A new Human Rights Bill for Scotland will look to incorporate several UN treaties – including the Convention of the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD) – into Scots Law.

Members of the public and organisations have until the 5th of October to let the government know what they think of the proposals.

Not only does rehabilitation support people to maintain their independence, but members of the coalition also say it can help address long NHS waiting times, reduce readmissions, ease social care pressures, and save public money in the long run.

The Stroke Improvement Programme, published by the Scottish government earlier this year, estimates that around 40,000 people who have been hospitalised with a stroke do not receive stroke rehabilitation.

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s Kenryck Lloyd-Jones, a member of the coalition, says a right to rehabilitation included within the Human Rights Bill will create a legal entitlement for everyone in Scotland to have access to the rehabilitation they require:

“There is no right to health without rehabilitation. Rehabilitation can be the key to helping people get back to work or doing the things they love. It must be available to everyone following an accident, injury or illness. We know this is not the case currently.”

Stroke survivor Nancy Barron from Perth says that rehabilitation is as essential as the medicines prescribed after a stroke:

“You cannot have the one without the other. 

“Rehabilitation needs to clearly planned and a path agreed to meet the needs of all stroke patients across the country. 

“It’s ridiculous that we have to campaign for something that should be a given. It should be a right for all people with any health conditions that people are giving the support to help them make the most of their lives and be part of the community again.” 

 

List of coalition members:

• Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland
• the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)
• Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists
• Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Stroke Association,
• Asthma and Lung UK
• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
• Parkinsons UK

 

To sign the petition to support the Right to Rehab campaign, visit www.chss.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/right-to-rehab/

 

Read more: GP contract changes too slow to fix ‘unfolding crisis’; Psychological support after stroke lacking

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