Do all stroke patients need to go to hospital?
People who have had a severe stroke should go to hospital; also those in whom the diagnosis is in doubt, so that tests can be done to make sure that they are not suffering from another disease which requires a different kind of treatment. Patients with no one to care for them at home must also go to hospital. If the stroke is not too severe and there are relatives who are able to care for them, patients are often treated in their homes. There are obvious advantages in remaining within the family, but stroke patients need careful and skilled nursing and therapy from an early stage of their stroke if maximum recovery is to be achieved. In some areas this can be provided by domiciliary services, but some patients may be at a disadvantage if they are treated at home by the family without specialist care and advice.
