Ministers
are being urged to improve declining care(NOT RECOVERY!) for stroke patients to lower
the risk of death and disability as new figures show rising cases,
especially among people in their 50s.
Thousands
of stroke patients are missing out on appropriate treatment and
rehabilitation, the standards of which have worsened over the past
decade, the Stroke Association has said as it publishes the latest
figures from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP), the
nation’s biggest stroke data audit covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Separate NHS
England analysis paints a picture of a healthcare system under
increasing strain, as the number of people being admitted to hospital
after a stroke has risen by 28% in the last 20 years. This included a
55% rise in admissions among people aged 50-59, bringing the number to
12,533 in 2023-24 – the highest increase among any age group. The rise
is understood to be fuelled by obesity, poor diet and sedentary
lifestyles.
The Stroke
Association said that innovative treatments, such as thrombectomy, and
basic care(NOT RECOVERY!), such as hospital rehabilitation, are still being delivered
inconsistently across different regions.
Juliet
Bouverie, the chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: “The NHS
stroke pathway has long been at crisis point. The recoveries of too
many stroke survivors are being put at risk due to a lack of staff,
spiralling waiting times and a lack of basic stroke care(NOT RECOVERY!) provision which
compromises – rather than optimises – patient recovery.
“Governmental
change is long overdue, and the 10-year health plan is an ideal
opportunity to ensure everyone who has a stroke can survive and live
well.”
SSNAP data found that some basics in
acute stroke care(NOT RECOVERY!) are now worse than they were 10 years ago. The
percentage of people directly admitted to a specialist stroke unit
within four hours of arrival at hospital stood at 46.7% in 2023-24,
compared with 58% in 2013-14. Extra time spent waiting dramatically
increases the risk of long-term poor health and disabilities.
The
percentage of patients spending more than 90% of their time on a
specialist stroke unit when admitted to hospital has decreased in the
last five years from 83.2% in 2019-20 to 75.9% in 2023-24, a drop of
more than 4,400 patients.
The latest figures
from NHS England reveal that ambulance response times for category 2
calls, which includes stroke, have increased to 42 minutes and 15
seconds in October from 36 minutes and 2 seconds in September, meaning
they arrive later at hospital, causing 1.9m brain cells to die every
minute that a stroke is left untreated.
SSNAP
data also shows that 3.9% of stroke patients had a thrombectomy last
year, well below NHS England’s target of 10% by 2027-28. Although about
20% of stroke patients are eligible for thrombolysis, a treatment to
dissolve blood clots, only an average of 11.6% patients received it in
2023-24.
The Stroke Association is calling on
the government to invest in stroke prevention, such as regular blood
pressure checks; support the delivery of universal 24/7 access to an
acute stroke unit and stroke treatments such as thrombectomy and
thrombolysis; and provide more funding for in-hospital and community
rehabilitation services.
Eight years ago Phil
Woodford, 53, from Preston, had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) – a
type of mini stroke – and full stroke the next day. He was given
thrombolysis, but he was unable to have a thrombectomy because his local
hospital did not provide the service on a weekend, which he believes
may have ruined his quality of life.
He said:
“My life changed overnight. It took four months’ rehabilitation in
hospital and then another four months until I could return to work. My
stroke caused musculoskeletal problems, permanent pain and weight gain
because I’m less mobile now. I walk with a limp and my left arm sometime
moves on its own and suffers from spasticity and cramps.”
A Department of Health
and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that so many
stroke survivors are not receiving the support and care(NOT RECOVERY!) they need with
their recovery. We are committed to improving stroke prevention,
treatment and recovery for all stroke survivors.
“We
have introduced health checks in workplaces and blood pressure checks
on high streets to help catch illness earlier, and we’re also acting to
prevent strokes in the first place by tackling the biggest killers such
as smoking and obesity.
“We will deliver the
investment and reform needed to turn the NHS around, which includes
shifting the focus of healthcare from treatment to prevention, as part
of our 10-year health plan.
