Stroke patients across the country are to benefit after Bradford health professionals were awarded a £1.6m research grant which to help improve long-term care.

Professor Anne Forster and her colleagues at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Leeds have been awarded a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programme grant to develop a national strategy for the long-term care of stroke survivors and their families.

Prof Forster, who is leading the team of researchers based at the Bradford Institute for Health Research, which is situated within the Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: “There have been tremendous advances in the treatment of patients soon after stroke, with emphasis on the rapid recognition of the signs of stroke and immediate treatment. But strategies for longer-term care are not as developed and stroke survivors and their families face a number of problems and challenges.

“This new research grant aims to develop and evaluate key aspects of a replicable system of longer-term support so that we can improve the quality of life of stroke survivors and their families by addressing unmet needs and enhancing social engagement.”

The research will be undertaken across the UK with the help and support of stroke patients, their families and clinicians.

Over recent years, stroke research supported by the NIHR has included studies which have developed early treatments such as clot busting and neuro protection drugs.

Therapies that support rehabilitation and long-term care, research into strategies that improve mood and memory following a stroke and provision of appropriate support for carers are all areas seen by experts as crucial for future stroke research.

Prof Forster added: “Investment in stroke research is vital if we are to improve the care and rehabilitation of stroke survivors, which we hope will lead to an increased quality of life for patients, their carers and families.”