NHS specialist stroke teams to be rolled-out

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, has announced that expert stroke teams will be rolled-out across the country to ensure thousands more people ‘survive and thrive’.

Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference, Powis revealed that the NHS has already saved hundreds more lives through the introduction of stroke networks across two major cities. He cited a major new study which found 170 extra lives are saved a year in London and Manchester alone thanks to the establishment of Hyper Acute Stroke Units (HASUs).

The units bring experts and equipment under one roof to provide world-class care and treatment around the clock, reducing death rates and long-term disability and giving patients faster access to specialist diagnosis and treatment, such as brain scans, clot-busting drugs and mechanical thrombectomy.

The Stroke Association has backed the national roll-out, saying that the report showed centres of excellence can save more lives and speed recovery. Patients treated at the specialist centres are expected to spend less time in hospital, which is better for them and frees up staff and beds to care for more patients.

Powis, who leads the NHS National Stroke Programme alongside the head of the Stroke Association, said: “Tackling killer conditions like stroke is a key part of our Long Term Plan for the NHS. Introducing quicker access to better treatment for stroke in London and here in Manchester has saved hundreds of lives and we now want to see them rolled out across the whole of the country.

“As clinicians and as leaders we have a responsibility to drive this forward and to make the case for change, because we know that the prize is so great: thousands more people surviving and thriving after stroke.”

Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, said: “When stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. That’s because a stroke happens in the brain, the control centre for who we are and what we can do. The evidence shows that reorganising stroke services to create stroke centres of excellence saves more lives and enables survivors to leave hospital sooner to start their recoveries at home. That’s why it’s so important this is a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

“It’s a straightforward formula: get to the right hospital so that you are properly assessed and can receive the right treatment by the appropriate specialists round the clock. Time lost is brain lost. We cannot afford to delay this progressive approach, that is based on research and evidence.”