Ealing (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A grant from InterAct Stroke Support charity is helping stroke patients in Ealing, funding vital recovery programs to improve rehabilitation and long-term support.
The charity InterAct Stroke Support provides stroke sufferers with live, expert actor-led readings in hospitals and public spaces throughout the United Kingdom.
They are aiming to assist patients in healing by facilitating moments of meaningful engagement that advance cognitive and emotional health.
Although most of them may be unable to read for themselves, studies show that, when reading to them the interaction and the mental stimulation of the experience can improve mood, morale and healing.
The £3,500 grant from the London Freemasons will specifically support InterAct in continuing to deliver these valuable reading sessions to stroke patients at Clayponds Hospital in Ealing.
The organization facilitates literature, poetry, and storytelling in the hospital setting at Clayponds, by providing two-hour reading sessions twice weekly.
This funding ensures that InterAct’s award-winning service will continue to be delivered, which is very much appreciated by the clinicians.
Hospital staff have praised the service’s effectiveness. As one healthcare professional noted,
“The actors engage with our patients in a way that we can’t always do.
They bring laughter, joy, and memories back to life, which is so important for the recovery process.”
Besides helping patients reclaim their language and memory, readings foster a healing and emotionally healing environment that alleviates feelings of loneliness and increases ward morale overall.
InterAct’s sessions provide stroke survivors with vital emotional and mental stimulation.
The Clayponds hospital staff values how these readings enhance the healing process and enhance the medical treatment given.
With this kind donation from the London Masons, InterAct will be able to keep improving the lives of stroke victims by using the power of storytelling to promote healing and wellbeing.
InterAct Stroke Support CEO Nirjay Mahindru, said:
“We are incredibly grateful to the London Freemasons for their generous grant, which will allow us to continue our important work at Clayponds Hospital.
Our live readings have a profound impact on stroke survivors, providing cognitive stimulation and much-needed emotional support.
With this funding, we can ensure that more patients will benefit from our award-winning service, helping them on their journey to recovery.”
Paul King from London Freemasons, said:
“People who have had a stroke have a wide range of outcomes, and we’re very proud to support InterAct Stroke Support in using their innovative methods to support the recovery process, and hopefully arrive at the best outcome for each patient.”
What evidence shows actor-led readings help stroke recovery?
Reading sessions and storytelling can engage the brain, increase happiness, help overcome feelings of isolation, and support emotional recovery from stroke. It will also reconnect the patients with language, memory, and communication.
Some evidence suggests mental rehearsal or imagery of movements can support neural plasticity, although evidence for mental practice alone is equivocal. However, physically and cognitively rehearsed therapies generally have a more positive outcome.
Group readings encourage socialization, which is critical for intervention related to depression and loneliness seen in stroke survivors and further motivates rehabilitation.