RCP slams waits for specialist stroke treatment

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has attacked the “unacceptable” waits for the initiation of specialist treatment suffered by many stroke patients, despite the increased amount of time spent by these individuals on stroke units.

Reporting on the results of the 2006 National Sentinel Audit for Stroke, the RCP reports that 76 per cent of patients with a minor stroke are not cared for in specialist units, with the college advocating this type of care for such individuals who are at a higher risk of having another stroke.

The RCP added that 58 per cent of patients do not have a brain scan within 24 hours of the start of symptoms to confirm the diagnosis of stroke, with the 42 per cent figure of those who do described as “unacceptably low”.

Furthermore, 85 per cent of patients are not taken to a stroke unit on the day of admittance, while 88 per cent are not admitted directly to such units.

Joe Korner, director of communications for The Stroke Association, said: “While it’s great to see a general improvement in stroke care, the latest audit shows that over a third of people who have a stroke never get treated on a stroke unit.”

He added that the government – which is currently developing a new strategy for stroke care – must invest adequately in the system to prevent the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of stroke patients.

The Stroke Association notes that at present, 130,000 people in England and Wales suffer a stroke, with a third of these patients dying within the first ten days of the incident.