A workshop was held at the King's Fund Centre on 3 November 1993 in which physiotherapists experienced in the treatment of neurological conditions took part to investigate the effectiveness of physiotherapy for people disabled by stroke. This report provides details of the topics discussed, and reviews the key components related to aims of treatment which were identified during the workshop. It also contains appropriate dimensions for patient-centred service evaluation based on feedback from three focus groups exploring the opinions of people with stroke and their carers about the physiotherapy services they had received. This report represents the first stage in work seeking to evaluate the contribution of physiotherapy to reducing physical disability in people with stroke.