‘Everyone has a right to rehab’ - Plymouth nurse leads campaign to get rehab available nationwide

• Watch Jacquie Bird's report here.

A Plymouth nurse wants everyone to have access to rehab and is taking her campaign to Westminster. 

The ‘Right to Rehab’ campaign has been created by Kate Tantam, an intensive care rehabilitation nurse at Derriford Hospital. 

At the moment, she says it's a postcode lottery when it comes to rehab therapy, as not all patients get it. 

Kate said: “If I had a magic wand, I would want a rehabilitation strategy and a rehabilitation lead in every hospital understanding the rehabilitation needs of their local population so that they can target rehabilitation for every patient in the UK. 

“Rehabilitation matters, and everyone has a right to rehab.”

It has been a life-changer for one local woman - Jo Burgess.

Jo had a stroke last September. As she lives near Derriford Hospital, she’s lucky enough to be getting rehab following the stroke. 

She said: “I’m getting there. I’ve still got a long way to go but if it wasn’t for [Derriford], I’d be lounging about doing nothing. It makes all the difference.

“If I lived somewhere else, and couldn’t have come here, I do think about what my life would be like now and into the future. 

“It’s not fair that depending on where you live depends on what treatment you get and what the rest of your life’s going to be like.”

The next steps are for the campaign to go to Parliament.