Thousands missing out on stroke treatment, audit shows

A national stroke audit has shown around 9,000 stroke patients per year are missing out on clot retrieval treatments that can prevent disability following a stroke.

The researchers highlighted that clot retrieval or thrombectomy can restore blood flow to the brain, preventing lasting damage. However, statics suggest only 600 patients annually receive the therapy, mostly due to a lack of skilled staff trained to carry out the procedure.

The longer a stroke is left untreated the longer the brain is starved of blood and likely to maintain lasting damage, leading to paralysis and speech problems.

The thrombectomy method aims to remove the clot mechanically. A thin metal wire housing a mesh is inserted into a major artery in the leg and, under X-ray guidance, it is directed to the site of the problem in the brain. The mesh is then expanded to trap and remove the clot.

Investigator Dr Martin James, at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, said: "Delivering the procedure to the 9,000 people who need it will require major changes to the configuration and skill sets of existing acute stroke services.

"We must work quickly to establish what needs to be done so that more people in the UK can benefit from a treatment which can dramatically reduce disability after a stroke as well as cutting associated costs to the NHS and social care."

The Royal College of Physicians said: "There is a major shortage of appropriately trained staff to undertake thrombectomy, particularly outside of London, and it will take time to train up enough doctors to undertake this skilled procedure."

Prof Tony Rudd, national clinical director for stroke at NHS England, said: "NHS stroke care and stroke survival are now at record levels.

"We recognise the potential effectiveness mechanical thrombectomy could have for about five per cent of stroke patients and are currently drawing up a policy for its possible use across the NHS."