To ask the Minister of Health (i) how his Department intends to support allied health professionals to deliver new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for stroke rehabilitation, which now recommend at least three hours of therapy, five days a week for stroke survivors; and (ii) what consideration his Department will give to the use and roll-out of new technologies and innovations, such as virtual reality, to enhance intensity and frequency of stroke rehabilitation therapies.

I recognise the important role of Allied Health Professionals in providing rehabilitation services for stroke patients. I understand that the recent changes in National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will further impact on existing pressures within the stroke rehabilitation service. In the context of these pressures, my Department intends to take forward a Stroke Workforce Review later this year. The Review will identify the future workforce required to deliver a high-quality stroke service and will be informed by best practice guidance including the revised NICE guidelines on stroke rehabilitation.

In the interim, my Department is supporting innovative ways of delivering stroke rehabilitation services, including a pilot of multidisciplinary team stroke rehabilitation groups in the South Eastern Trust. In addition, a pilot has also been introduced in the Belfast Trust to support the use of virtual reality in the delivery of Occupational Therapy. An app to support the delivery of Speech and Language Therapy is also currently in development. It is important to note that the introduction of such technology beyond the pilot phase is subject to additional funding.