Stroke victims suffer ambulance delays
Published: 04:55PM BST 13 Jan 2012
compensation but
assurance it
won't happen again"
Richard Follis, Partner
The ambulance Trust's figures show that that in 2010 to 2011 there were 351 occasions where a vehicle called to a suspected stroke or heart attack victim took more than an hour to arrive – up from 72 in 2007/08.
The Trust said the number for such calls it received almost doubled over the same period to more than 27,000 a year.
Getting potential stroke victims to hospital for early treatment is vital in enabling doctors to identify the type of stroke before giving potentially life saving treatment.
NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) guidelines state that the necessary scans must take place within four hours of the onset of symptoms, so losing more than an hour before reaching hospital is potentially life threatening, or could lead to a devastating injury that could have been avoided.
Clinical negligence specialist Sarah Harper has acted for several claimants affected by stroke and who have received either negligent or delayed treatment.
She said: "The Government's FAST (face, arms, speech and time) TV campaign urges potential stroke victims to call for an ambulance as soon as they are aware of the symptoms; the fact that demand is now at a record high after a 15% rise in calls in the last three years may be in part attributed to the campaign.
"The East of England Ambulance Service was the worst performing in main land England for getting stroke patients to a specialist unit within an hour. A manager has now been recruited in an effort to cut response times.
"Delays in treatment of stroke patients can cause devastating consequences both for the patient and their families and loved ones."
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