The Stroke Association reserves the right to make changes to these terms and conditions at any time. Please refer back to this section regularly because any amendments will be posted here and will apply to your continued use of the website. 

Definitions used in these terms and conditions

  • The terms "this site" and “this website” means all internet pages in the stroke.org.uk domain and mystrokeguide.com domains.

  • "Stroke Association" includes any person or organisation involved in any part of the design, development, moderation, response-handling, marketing, promotion or other similar aspects of this site.

  • "User(s)", “visitor(s)”, “you”, “your” and “yours” means the person(s) accessing or interacting with the website.

  • "Content" means any information, data, text, graphics, photographs, publications, documents, links, programming code or other material published, contained or available on the website.

  • “Indemnify” means to exempt.

The forum

  • In registering for My Stroke Guide, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions set out on this page. These conditions apply to your choice of username as well as any public or private messages that you post.

  • Use of the forum is at the user’s own risk. The Stroke Association does not accept responsibility for any costs or expenses incurred as a result of any actions you take.

  • Content posted on any of the forum areas is the sole responsibility of the person who posted the content. All views and information, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are individual and should not be interpreted as the views, policy or advice of the Stroke Association. Where views or information are those of the Stroke Association, this will be clearly identified as such.

  • If you need specific medical advice, contact your GP in the first instance or an appropriate medical professional such as a physiotherapist or stroke consultant.

  • If you need emergency medical help, dial 999 for an emergency ambulance or go to your local hospital’s accident and emergency department.

  • Always consult a medical professional before making any health-related decisions that could affect you or those that you care for. If you're concerned about your own or another person’s care or safety then we encourage you to contact your local social services department.

Code of conduct

We welcome the use of the forum as widely and freely as possible. The code of conduct set out on this page aims to ensure that discussions stay safe, respectful, legal and relevant.

  • Please remember that forum posts are visible to users site-wide and, as such, please only post information that you are happy to share publicly. On the community wall and your profile, you may specify to whom your posts are visible. Messages between users are private.

  • Please ensure that your messages do not include personal attacks, content that is offensive, defamatory or libellous, vulgar, hateful, threatening, abusive, invasive or in violation of any laws or good morals and practice.

  • Please do not harass other users by making repeated and unwanted attempts to contact them in a manner that could cause distress.

  • Please bear in mind that your views about what is considered offensive may differ from those of other members. Try to consider your comments from the perspective of others before posting. Most situations where someone might take offence are not straightforward and call for a judgement from a moderator. The final decision to edit or delete a post (see ‘Inappropriate posts’ below) rests with the Stroke Association.

  • Please avoid writing in BLOCK CAPITALS as it can make your comments more difficult to read and is often interpreted as if you are shouting.

  • Please do not post personal details including, but not limited to, telephone numbers, email addresses or postal addresses, unless these have been posted with the agreement of My Stroke Guide. This applies to your own or anyone else’s details.

  • Please do not allow anyone else to use your My Stroke Guide account.

  • Please do not create multiple accounts.

  • Please do not impersonate any person or organisation or falsely claim any affiliation with a person or organisation.

  • Please do not break any other applicable laws, or post or send any content that you do not have a right to transmit under the law.

  • Please do not participate in mischievous or malicious behaviour, which causes or could cause damage to the Stroke Association, this site or any computer systems on which this site resides.

  • You are welcome to post links to other web pages or refer to third-party organisations or products where you feel this would be helpful to other members.

  • Please do not advertise or promote other companies or their campaigns, programs or resources which may directly compete with the Stroke Association.

  • Please do not post sections from other websites as this may raise copyright issues. It is better to write your own short description and post a link. The Stroke Association is not responsible for any information posted by members that may infringe copyright law.

  • Any reference to third-party organisations, their products or services does not imply endorsement by the website.

  • Advertising of products or services by commercial companies or those affiliated with them is not permitted and will be removed.

  • The above advertising policy applies to offers to sell, loan or give away second-hand items, such as equipment, as well.

  • You must not transmit any chain letters, spam, junk messages or any other form of solicitation to other users.

  • This site must not be used to collect or publish any personal data.

  • Personal donation and fundraising requests are not allowed on this site, these should be confined to appropriate sites such as JustGiving.

Legal or medical advice

  • The forum is a community for people affected by stroke to share support and advice. Information on the forum is not a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. Always consult a medical professional before making any health-related decisions. The Stroke Association has no obligation to amend or remove any inappropriate advice given on the forum. When sharing advice on the forum please be aware that other people’s situations may differ from your own and be clear about where the information relates to your personal experience. For example, you could say ‘My doctor prescribed me aspirin, you could ask your GP about this’ rather than ‘You should take aspirin’.

Recruiting participants for research

  • The Stroke Association recognises the value of all stroke research and also recognises that many people affected by stroke are interested in getting involved with research projects relevant to them.

  • Students and researchers can advertise for participants by posting a message on the forum but only after completing and returning a specific form that's available by contacting the Stroke Association at research@stroke.org.uk.

  • The Stroke Association is not responsible for, and does not endorse, any research project, opportunity, or other types of projects mentioned on My Stroke Guide.

  • Reasonable attempts have been made to ensure projects listed have appropriate approval from a recognised body. Participants are responsible for satisfying themselves that appropriate approval procedures have been met before taking part.

  • Journalists and media professionals conducting research for articles should not contact My Stroke Guide users directly. You can contact our press office at press@stroke.org.uk.

  • Any communications or material that you transmit to, or post on the forum or any other public area of My Stroke Guide, including any data, questions, comments or suggestions, is, and will be treated as, non-confidential and non-proprietary information.

  • The Stroke Association may use, or allow to be used, information posted on the forum for research purposes with a view to improving products and services for stroke survivors. Any content that the Stroke Association is aware of being used for this purpose will be anonymised.

  • Private messages sent through My Stroke Guide are not routinely checked but will be read if they have been reported to us as inappropriate. By sending or receiving a private message you consent to it being viewed by the Stroke Association where My Stroke Guide has been notified of a problem or a breach of these terms and conditions.

  • Please respect the privacy and wishes of those users who you have been privately messaging. You must not pass on details to third parties (except the Stroke Association) without permission.

  • For further information about how we treat any personal information entered on this site please see our privacy policy.

Inappropriate posts

  • Comments are not approved before they are posted on the forum. All new comments are checked at regular intervals by moderators to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions on this page.

  • If you feel an inappropriate message has been posted, you can report it to the moderator by clicking ‘report’ at the bottom of the post in question.

  • Where a breach of these terms and conditions occurs, the Stroke Association reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit.

  • The Stroke Association has the right, but no obligation, to remove, edit, move or close any message or group of messages for any reason.

  • The Stroke Association has the right to delete the account of any member who violates our guidelines or disrupts the community. The Stroke Association will aim to provide a warning where possible, but is not obligated to do so.

  • The Stroke Association has the right to modify or delete any or all information related to a user, including deletion of that user’s account, without prior notice.

  • While the Stroke Association may notify you when we make changes to your post or account, we are under no obligation to explain or enter into correspondence regarding the moderation of the forum.

  • The Stroke Association may report activities on the forum to the relevant authorities if doing so may prevent a crime, or assist in the detection of a crime, or if we have a legal responsibility to do so.

  • If you have an issue concerning My Stroke Guide, its users or its staff, please email mystrokeguide@stroke.org.uk. We take complaints very seriously, and we will do our best to address them.

Contact us

If you have questions about anything in the terms and conditions on this page, please email website@stroke.org.uk or write to us at:

Stroke Association
Stroke Association House
240 City Road
London
EC1V 2PR

Feedback

We welcome your feedback. Please send us your comments via our feedback form.

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