Stroke care
The results of the National Sentinel Audit for Stroke, published on Monday, reveal an improvement in the provision of specialist services for patients who have suffered a stroke.
However there remains a considerable amount of work to ensure that every patient gets the quality of care that will reduce death and disability rates, and enable maximum recovery of the patient, says the study.
Stakeholder Response: Royal College of Physicians
Dr Tony Rudd, chairman of the inter-collegiate stroke network, said: "For those hospitals that have not made major improvements, the audit will help identify areas for change, and gives a very clear strategy for building first-class stroke services. To support this, we need government to make stroke a major priority."
Stakeholder Response: Stroke Association
Jon Barrick, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said:"Standards in stroke care have vastly improved over the past twenty years thanks to the concerted efforts of health professionals on the ground and a real commitment from government
"However it is extremely disappointing to see patients across the country are still waiting to get the essential care that they should receive according to government-set standards. How can the government possibly achieve their target of reducing deaths from stroke by 40 per cent by 2010 if hospitals are not given the essential resources and support to achieve this? By getting this right, lives could be saved.
"Patients are still waiting to be promptly diagnosed and to have immediate access to specialist staff. We are all still waiting for stroke to be made the medical priority that it should be. This is scandalous when you consider that it is the third biggest killer and the biggest cause of long-term disability. It is staggering that something as basic as prompt diagnosis and treatment still needs to be highlighted and addressed.
"Someone has a stroke every five minutes in the
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