Coalition demands Right to Rehab for every Scot

The coalition has created a petition to enable the public to show support for rehab as a human right.

On Thursday 31^st August 2023, a coalition of leading health charities and professional bodies came together at the Scottish Parliament to demand that access to rehabilitation is recognised as a human right in law.

Tens of thousands of people across the country are currently not receiving the rehabilitation they require. The recent Stroke Improvement Programme stated that an estimated 40,000 people who have suffered from a stroke in Scotland and have been hospitalised don’t receive stroke rehabilitation.

The Right to Rehab Coalition launched its campaign to ensure that the right to rehab is included in the Scottish Government’s forthcoming Human Rights Bill.

The coalition is a collective of health charities and professional bodies who are committed to delivering the Right to Rehab in Scotland.  It comprises Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, The Health and Social Care Alliance (The ALLIANCE), Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Royal College of Occupational Therapy, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy, Asthma and Lung UK, Stroke Association, RNIB, and Parkinsons UK.

The Scottish Government is proposing to create a Human Rights Bill that puts several UN treaties into law. These treaties already recognise the Right to Health and the Right to Rehab. Scottish Government is proposing to make these law in Scotland. 

As part of its campaign of support, the coalition has launched a petition to enable the public to show its support for the addition of the right to rehabilitation to the bill.

Jane-Claire Judson, Chief Executive of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, the organisation leading the coalition campaign, said: “It is entirely unacceptable that so many people across Scotland struggle to access the rehabilitation they need to live full lives.

“We want the Scottish public to get behind our call for the right to rehabilitation to be included in the Scottish Government’s proposed Human Rights Bill so that everyone, regardless of condition or location, can access the rehabilitation they need for as long as they need it.”

Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) said: “Incorporating human rights treaties into law has the potential to be transformational for respecting, protecting and fulfilling people’s rights in Scotland.

“The Scottish Government must make sure the Right to Rehab, which ensures everyone has access to rehabilitation when needed, is included. It’s an essential element of the right to health – a right that everyone should fully enjoy. We encourage everyone to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Human Rights Bill, to show how human rights matter to you.”

Kenryck Lloyd-Jones, Public Affairs and Policy Manager for Scotland, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said: “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.

“Investing in timely quality rehab and recovery services is also essential to enable the NHS to address long waiting times, reduce readmissions and for ease pressures on social care.

“The Scottish Government must include a Right to Rehab in the Human Rights Bill.”

James Adams, Director, RNIB Scotland said: “For people with sight loss, rehabilitation is crucial to maintaining independence.

“Right to Rehab should be incorporated as a human right. Investment in rehab not only improves outcomes for the individual it saves money for the public purse further down the line.”

Representatives of the coalition were joined at the Parliament by people living with long-term conditions who have first-hand experience of impact access to appropriate and timely rehabilitation can have, including stroke survivor Nancy Barron from Perth.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament, Nancy commented: “Rehabilitation is as essential as the medicines prescribed to use 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.”

Sign the petition to support the Right to Rehab campaign.

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