Fears over West Sussex stroke treatments
At a county council health and overview scrutiny committee meeting members heard the “clot-busting” thrombolysis drug is not available out of hours at anywhere in West Sussex, including Worthing Hospital.
Members heard there could also be problems transporting patients to specialist units.
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Hide AdThis led to a public perception of “only have a stroke Monday to Friday, in working hours” and the loss of “vital time” to treat patients.
A report, considered by the committee, said 50 per cent of those who need thrombolysis would need out-of-hours treatment.
In the last year, 55 people received thrombolysis at Worthing and St Richard’s hospitals.
Out of county
Chairman Christine Field said: “If facilities are out of county, and the ambulance can’t take people to them, what confidence can we have in access to potentially life-saving services?”
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Hide AdSarah Mulheron-Jones, deputy programme director of cardiac and stroke services for NHS West Sussex, said: “This is work we are doing at the moment. Services being set up are new.”
Dr Sharlin Ahmed, research liaison officer at The Stroke Association, said: “There is over-whelming evidence to suggest people who have had a stroke have a better outcome if it is treated as an emergency.”
She added “clot-busting” treatments needed to be administered within four hours of symptoms starting.
Improvement
The committee was told there had been some significant improvements in provision for stroke treatment.
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Hide AdWestern Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust had seen almost a 30 per cent increase in patient time spent at a dedicated stroke unit, largely attributed to a new unit at St Richard’s and improvements to the stroke “pathway of care”.
Making its recommendations, however, the committee said there was a need for more public education on stroke prevention and recognition.
Howard Bloom, councillor, said: “We have got to get over the public perception of a stroke as ‘oh dear, not urgent’. It is as urgent as a heart attack.”