Report finds increase in priority and awareness of stroke care

04 February 2010

The National Stroke Strategy has led to improvements in stroke care, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, according to a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO).

In its previous report in 2005, the NAO claimed that stroke had historically had a low priority within the NHS and called for new medical and technological developments to be implemented in order to improve patient outcomes.

The situation has since improved and a stroke patient's chances of dying within ten years have fallen from 71 per cent in 2006 to 67 per cent.

Stroke care is now better value for money and the NAO praised the "clear focus" from ministers and the Department of Health.

All relevant hospitals in England now have a specialist stroke unit and patients who are treated in these are more likely to survive and tend to have fewer complications.

However, the report noted that just 17 per cent of stroke patients reached a specialist stroke unit within four hours of arrival at hospital in 2008.

Another concern is that patients are not scanned quickly enough and the provision of out-of-hours services needs to improve.

NAO head Amyas Morse commented: "Care for people who have had a stroke has significantly improved since we reported in 2005.

"The publication and early implementation of the stroke strategy have begun to make a real difference and have helped to put in place the right mechanisms to bring about these improvements."

But Mr Morse emphasised that there is "still work to be done", adding that the Department of Health "should focus on ensuring that health, social care and employment services are working together much more effectively".

Nikki Hill, deputy director of communications at the Stroke Association, commented: "We are pleased to see the improvements to stroke services in the last five years that have seen more people surviving a stroke and fewer people left to cope with the effects of severe disabilities."

However, she noted that the report highlights "areas of remaining serious concern".

"The welcome improvements in acute care must be matched by post-hospital support so that stroke survivors get the level of care and support they need irrespective of where they live," Ms Hill concluded.

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