Mr Michael Barke

We are the UK’s leading charity dedicated to conquering stroke. We deliver stroke services across the UK, campaign for better stroke care, invest in research and fundraise to expand our reach to as many stroke survivors as possible.

There are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK with 100,000 strokes happening in the UK each year. That’s one stroke every five minutes.

Even though you are now twice as likely to survive a stroke compared to 20 years ago, stroke is still the fourth single largest cause of death in the UK.

We know we need to change how people think about stroke and challenge the myths surrounding it. We push for greater awareness of stroke and its warning signs and campaign for better stroke care.

We believe:

strokes can and should be prevented
everyone has the right to make the best recovery they can after stroke
research has the power to save lives and ensure people make the best recovery they can.

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition. This means that it causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. 

The number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's in the UK is about 145,000. That's around 1 adult in every 350.

People with Parkinson's don't have enough of the chemical dopamine because some of the nerve cells that make it have died.

There are lots of different treatments, therapies and support available to help manage the condition.

Our researchers are working hard to develop new and better treatments - and one day a cure.