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Long Covid patients travelling abroad for expensive and unproven treatments, investigation finds

Paul Pettinger’s trip to Cyprus came because he felt the NHS had no treatments to offer him.

Paul got Covid in the first wave in 2020. After the initial illness, he was left with extreme tiredness and 10% of the energy he once had.

“I have a very small amount of energy and when I use up my energy, I end up with headaches, brain fog and with cognitive issues. It's very hard to think. And also I can't walk very far,” he says. His life then fell apart and he lost his job. “I have been almost housebound for over two years.” he says adding: “I’ve become a burden on family and friends.”

A joint investigation between ITV News and the BMJ has found that Paul is 1 of around 120 people with Long Covid symptoms who have travelled to Cyprus for treatment. But thousands more have had the treatment in countries spending life changing sums of money.

The Long Covid Center is one of several private clinics offering this treatment - others are in Germany and Switzerland. This is Paul’s seventh session. And, he says, he notices a difference and has confidence in the process.

“After each treatment, I experienced a small improvement,” he says. “It is the only treatment out there at the time being and so far it's working.”

However, experts have raised concerns over whether such invasive and expensive therapies should be offered without sufficient evidence.

“I am worried these patients have been offered therapies which have not been assessed by modern scientific methods – well-designed clinical trials,” said Beverley Hunt, medical director of the charity Thrombosis UK. “In this situation, the treatment may or may not benefit them but, worryingly, also has the risk of harm.”

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Source: ITV News, 12 July 2022

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Long COVID patients to get help at more than 60 clinics

Thousands of patients suffering with the long term symptoms of coronavirus can now access specialist help at more than 60 sites, NHS England announced today.

The assessment centres are taking referrals from GPs for people experiencing brain fog, anxiety, depression, breathlessness, fatigue and other debilitating symptoms.

NHS England has provided £10 million for the network of clinics, which started opening last month. There are now 69 operating across the country with hundreds of patients already getting help.

The new centres bring together doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists to offer both physical and psychological assessments and refer patients to the right treatment and rehabilitation services.

Ten sites are now operational in London, seven in the East of England, eight in the Midlands, South East and South West respectively, nine in the North West and a further 18 across the North East and Yorkshire.

A further 12 sites are earmarked to launch in January in the East Midlands, Lancashire, Cornwall and Isle of Wight.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today also issued official guidance on best practice for recognising, investigating and rehabilitating patients with long COVID.

Patients can access services if they are referred by a GP or another healthcare professional, so that doctors can first rule out other possible underlying causes for symptoms.

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Source: NHS England, 18 December 2020

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Long Covid patients face lottery over treatment

Patients with long Covid are facing a postcode lottery across the UK when it comes to getting care, nurses say.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said treatment varied hugely with some services treating it as a physical condition, but others as psychological.

The union also highlighted long waits in parts of England, which has a network of specialist clinics. It warned that patients in Scotland and Wales may be missing out because of a lack of dedicated clinics.

Speaking at the RCN's conference in Glasgow, nurses said they had seen first-hand how debilitating the symptoms could be.

Nearly half of patients referred to specialist services are aged 35 to 54.

Jo Strucke, a mental health nurse who works in a specialist service in Yorkshire, said: "Some of our patients have really complex physical health problems and their lives have been transformed.

"They may be unable to work, socialise and do things they previously enjoyed."

Helen Donovan, the RCN's public health lead, added: "As nursing staff we see first-hand how life-limiting long Covid can be."

But she said: "There aren't enough specialist services to meet growing demand and the help patients get varies hugely across the country."

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Source: BBC News, 7 June 2022

 

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Long Covid more common in women and children and lasts for months, warns latest review

Lasting effects of infection from coronavirus are more common in women and children than expected, with at least 10% of people infected suffering persistent symptoms for months, a new review has found.

Experts at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) examined more than 300 separate scientific studies for the analysis. It found many patients reported struggling to access testing and help from the NHS to treat their symptoms, which varied between patients, suggesting long Covid is a group of four possible syndromes affecting patients differently.

The report said: “Long Covid appears to be more frequent in women and in young people (including children) than might have been expected,” adding other sufferers could be experiencing an active disease, impacting on their organs and causing debilitating symptoms that would need ongoing treatment. In some patients, the effects included neurological changes in their brains while others showed signs of blood clotting and inflammation. Other patients reported anxiety, fatigue and damage to their lungs and heart.

It also warned there was evidence some long Covid patients could actually be getting worse, underlining the need to invest in services that will be needed to cope with what could be a long term problem.

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Source: The Independent, 16 March 2021

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Long Covid Minister needed to respond to growing crisis

Press release 3 February 2021

The charity Patient Safety Learning and patient group Long Covid Support are calling for the creation of a dedicated Minister for Long Covid to take a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach to this issue.[1]

Long Covid patients are people with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 who continue to struggle with prolonged, debilitating and sometimes severe symptoms months later.[2] Statistics indicate that there are currently hundreds of thousands of people living with Long Covid in the UK, with at least one in 10 people still experiencing symptoms 12 weeks after initial infection.[3]

While there has been some progress to put in place support for people with Long Covid, there remains a complex spectrum of issues that need to be addressed. These are summarised in a blog, published by Patient Safety Learning and Long Covid Support today, calling for the UK Government to make urgent and significant improvements in their response to Long Covid.[4]

Claire Hastie of the Long Covid Support, said:

“Almost one year on from when many first fell ill, people with Long Covid are simply not getting the help they need. There is an urgent need to increase the pace and scale of the response to help the hundreds of thousands of people affected (including children). This needs to be driven by a dedicated minister with the power to affect change.”

Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, said:

“People living with Long Covid have too often been left ‘joining the dots’ trying to understand how they can access safe, quality treatment and support and what they can do to improve their health. Clinical advice and access to further investigations has been inconsistent, leaving many feeling abandoned, confused and understandably concerned for their future health outcomes.

Long Covid not only impacts people’s physical and mental health, but also their ability to work and their economic circumstances. We believe the appointment of a Minister for Long Covid would help to provide leadership, accountability and a coordinated response to these challenges.”

Notes to editors:

[1] Patient Safety Learning is a charity and independent voice for improving patient safety. We harness the knowledge, insights, enthusiasm and commitment of health and social care organisations, professionals and patients for system-wide change and the reduction of avoidable harm.

[2] The symptoms for those with Long Covid vary greatly but many are experiencing rashes, shortness of breath, neurological and gastrointestinal problems, abnormal temperatures, cardiac symptoms and extreme fatigue.

[3] Office for National Statistics, The prevalence of Long Covid symptoms and Covid-19 complications, 16 December 2020. https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/theprevalenceoflongcovidsymptomsandcovid19complications

[4] Patient Safety Learning and Long Covid Support, Long Covid Minister needed to respond to the growing crisis, 3 February 2020. https://www.patientsafetylearning.org/blog/long-covid-minister-needed-to-respond-to-growing-crisis

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Long Covid less common than feared - ONS study

One in 40 people with coronavirus has symptoms lasting at least three months, Office for National Statistics figures suggest.

In April, an ONS report put the proportion at about one in every 10. The latest, large and comprehensive analysis suggests long Covid may be less common than previously thought.

But the condition is not fully understood and still has no universally agreed definition, leading to different studies producing different figures.

However, like many other reports, the analysis suggests women, 50- to 69-year-olds and people with other long-term health conditions are the most likely to have symptoms of long Covid 12 weeks after a Covid infection.

People with high levels of virus in their body when testing positive are also more likely to have long Covid, the analysis suggests.

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Source: BBC News, 17 September 2021

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Long Covid in children 'nowhere near scale feared'

Experts have said the risk of "long Covid" in children is much lower than many had feared, with research suggesting somewhere between 2% and 14% still had symptoms caused by Covid 15 weeks later.

However, while the research team found little evidence to showing huge number seeking help for symptoms that had left them bedridden or unable to attend school, it was still important that they received support if they had any persistent symptoms such as headaches, tiredness and breathing difficulties. 

Prof Sir Terence Stephenson, from UCL's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said of the development of Long Covid in children, "It is nowhere near what people thought in the worst-case scenario".

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Source: BBC News, 01 September 2021

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Long Covid impact in Ireland highlighted in report

Almost 90% of those living with Long Covid in Ireland have not returned to their pre-Covid level of health, according to a new report.

The study of 988 participants was carried out by APC Microbiome Ireland, a research centre based at University College Cork (UCC), in conjunction with Cork University Hospital and Long Covid Advocacy Ireland.

It found that more than two-thirds of participants in the study continued to experience fatigue, memory problems, chest pain, stomach upset, and muscle pain.

Those surveyed also reported that they were suffering from new symptoms that had not been present before catching Covid.

These included tinnitus (38%), mouth ulcers (28%), new allergies (16%) and sexual dysfunction (13%).

They said these prolonged symptoms can significantly impact their quality of life, affect their ability to work and cause significant disability.

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Source: BBC News, 7 November 2022

Further reading and resources can be found in our dedicated area of the hub on Long Covid.

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Long Covid health staff 'abandoned and forgotten'

Healthcare workers with Long Covid say the government needs to do more to support those left with life-changing disabilities since catching the virus.

Nurse Rachel Hext, 37 from Paignton, insisted she caught Covid in her job as a nurse in a small community hospital in Devon.

"We were clapped and called heroes, and now those of us who have been bereaved or disabled by it have been forgotten," she said.

The government said it knew Long Covid could have a debilitating impact on people's physical and mental health, that there was a "range of support for staff" and it was funding research into it.

Mrs Hext is one of a group of healthcare workers with long Covid who have taken their fight to the High Court to try to sue the NHS and other employers for compensation.

The staff, from England and Wales, said they believed they first caught Covid at work during the pandemic and said they were not properly protected from the virus.

She said: "I want acknowledgement and I want support for the people who need it.

"Long Covid is absolutely life-changing. It's devastated us as a family."

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Source: BBC News, 20 March 2025

Related reading on the hub:

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Long Covid GP consultations 'cost £23m'

Long Covid costs the UK at least an extra £23m in GP and other primary care consultations each year, according to estimates in a new study.

The University of Birmingham said extra appointments cost between £23m and £60m a year.

The study examined more than 950,000 electronic healthcare records since the start of the global pandemic.

People with Long Covid report symptoms including persistent coughs and brain fog. The condition is defined as having symptoms three months after the initial infection, which last for two months or more.

Factors found to increase primary care costs included being older, female, white, obese or someone with long-term health conditions.

Co-lead author Dr Shamil Haroon, from the university, said: "We might expect that patients who are older or who have long-term health conditions will need additional primary care support, but we have also seen additional costs associated with being white and female."

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Source: BBC, 11 January 2024

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Long Covid course is ‘exploiting people’, says ex-GB rower

A former Team GB rower claims a treatment she underwent for long Covid leaves participants feeling "blamed" for being ill.

Oonagh Cousins was offered a free place on a course run by the Lightning Process, which teaches people they can rewire their brains to stop or improve long Covid symptoms quickly.

Ms Cousins, who contracted Covid in March 2020, said it "exploits" people.

However, the programme's founder denied it blames patients for their illness, saying that was completely at odds with the concepts of the programme

Ms Cousins had reached a career goal many athletes can only dream of - being selected for the Olympics - when she developed long Covid. By the time the cancelled 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were rescheduled for 2021, Ms Cousins was too ill to take part.

When she went public with her struggles, she was approached by the Lightning Process. It offered her a free place on a three-day course, which usually costs around £1,000.

"They were trying to suggest that I could think my way out of the symptoms, basically. And I disputed that entirely," the former rower said. "I had a very clearly physical illness. And I felt that they were blaming my negative thought processes for why I was ill." She added: "They tried to point out that I had depression or anxiety. And I said 'I'm not, I'm just very sick'."

Prof Danny Altmann, a leading long Covid researcher, says such behavioural approaches disregard the "mass" of underlying damage in patients that can be measured in tests.

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Source: BBC News, 21 May 2024

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Long Covid could trigger changes in the brain that are similar to Alzheimer’s, new study says

Some people suffering from long Covid may experience symptoms similar to those seen in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research.

Recent findings from New York University Langone Health suggest that changes in the brain caused by Long Covid — symptoms of the illness that linger for more than three months, according to the CDC — may result in long-term fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, loss of smell or taste, depression, and other symptoms.

Some 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with long Covid, according to Yale Medicine.

“Our work suggests that long-term immune reactions caused in some cases after an initial COVID infection may come with swelling that damages a critical brain barrier in the choroid plexus,” senior study author Dr. Yulin Ge, a professor in the Department of Radiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a statement.

“It is currently unknown whether these changes are reversible. We are actively analyzing their follow-up data to address this question,” Dr Ge said.

Senior study author Dr. Thomas Wisniewski of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine said in a statement that the team's next steps will be to monitor the patients to see if “the brain changes we identified can predict who will develop long-term cognitive issues.”

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Source: The Independent, 11 February 2026

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Long Covid could create a generation affected by disability, expert warns

Long Covid could create a generation affected by disability, with people forced out of their homes and work, and some even driven to suicide, a leading expert has warned.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Prof Danny Altmann – an immunologist at Imperial College London – said that the UK’s current approach to Covid fails to take the impact of infections sufficiently seriously, adding that more needs to be done to aid diagnosis and treatment of Long Covid.

“It’s kind of an anathema to me that we’ve kind of thrown in the towel on control of Omicron wave infections and have said ‘it’s endemic, and we don’t care any more, because it’s very benign’,” he said. “It just isn’t. And there are new people joining the long Covid support groups all the time with their disabilities. It’s really not OK, and it’s heartbreaking.”

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, by the end of January this year about 1.5 million people – or 2.4% of the population – in the UK said they were experiencing ongoing symptoms more than four weeks after their first suspected Covid infection, with 45% reporting that infection was a year or more ago.

The findings chime with a recent UK study that found only around one in three patients who had ongoing Covid symptoms after being hospitalised with the disease reported feeling fully recovered a year later.

Asked whether Long Covid could lead to a generation affected by disability, Altmann agreed. “Totally,” he said.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 March 2022

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Long Covid could be bigger public health crisis than excess deaths leaving patients in agony, expert warns

Long Covid could be a bigger public health crisis than excess deaths as the condition leaves patients in agony, experts have warned.

Patients overcoming the coronavirus and suffering with long Covid have reported symptoms such as chronic fatigue - months after they first contracted the virus.

It was previously reported that 60,000 Britains struck by “long-Covid” have been ill for three months with some left in wheelchairs. People who were previously fit and healthy who have recovered from the virus have in some cases been left bed ridden and unable to climb the stairs.

Now a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change is recommending that the Government highlight the issue in awareness campaigns.

The report, titled 'Long Covid: Reviewing the Science and Assessing the Risk', states that awareness campaigns could encourage the use of face masks and coverings.

The authors of the report state: “Long Covid is likely a bigger issue than excess deaths as a result of Covid, but, crucially, the risk must be considered alongside the economic impact and other health impacts linked to Covid restrictions."

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Source: The Sun, 5 October 2020

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Long Covid causing 'debilitating impact' on doctors

A "significant" number of doctors are still suffering with the "debilitating effects" of Long Covid, according to a new report.

Many are left in financial limbo as they have been forced to quit work or reduce their hours, the British Medical Association (BMA) report warns.

Some 600 doctors with long COVID were quizzed about the impact on their day-to-day lives.

One in five told the BMA and the Long COVID Doctors for Action group they had been forced to stop work or significantly cut back on their hours.

Carrying out essential daily activities such as getting dressed, household activities, and childcare have become difficult or not possible for 60% of the medics who took part in the survey.

Nearly half (49%) said they have experienced loss of earnings as a result of Long Covid symptoms of which include: fatigue, headaches, muscular pain, nerve damage, joint pain, ongoing respiratory problems.

The BMA has made a series of calls to support doctors with Long Covid, including:

  • Financial support for doctors and other health workers with Long Covid.
  • Long Covid to be recognised as an "occupational disease".
  • Better access to physical and mental health services for those affected after the report said that access to NHS long COVID clinics is "patchy".
  • Greater "workplace protection" for staff.
  • More support to help healthcare workers return to work "safely".

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Source: Medscape, 3 July 2023

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Long Covid cases under reported

A study by React have estimated around 2 million people may be suffering from long Covid but scientists say the cases are going under reported. 

Currently, there is no universal definition of long Covid and the symptoms are varying and broad. 

To better understand the condition, the government has set up around 80 clinics and have invested £50m for research. 

Read full story. 

Source: BBC News, 30 June 2021

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Long Covid can impair quality of life more than advanced cancers, study says

Many people with Long Covid have a lower health-related quality of life than people with some advanced cancers, research suggests.

Fatigue is the symptom with the greatest impact on the daily lives of Long Covid patients, according to a study led by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the University of Exeter. They found that many were seriously ill and had fatigue scores worse than or similar to people with cancer-related anaemia or severe kidney disease.

Their health-related quality of life scores were also lower than those of people with advanced metastatic cancers, such as stage 4 lung cancer. Overall, the impact of long Covid on the daily activities of patients was worse than that for stroke patients and comparable to people with Parkinson’s disease.

The study co-author Prof William Henley, of Exeter University medical school, said: “Long Covid is an invisible condition, and many people are left trying to manage significant changes to how they can function.

“Shockingly, our research has revealed that Long Covid can leave people with worse fatigue and quality of life than some cancers, yet the support and understanding is not at the same level. We urgently need more research to enable the development of evidence-based services to support people trying to manage this debilitating new condition.”

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Source: The Guardian, 8 June 2023

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Long Covid blood clues could prompt future trials

People with long Covid have evidence of continuing inflammation in their blood, which could help understanding of the condition and how it may be treated, a UK study suggests.

It found the presence of certain proteins increased the risk of specific symptoms, such as fatigue, in people sick enough to need hospital treatment.

It is unclear whether milder cases of Covid have the same effect on the body.

A test remains a long way off - but the findings may prompt future trials.

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Source: BBC News, 8 April 2024

Related reading on the hub:

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Long Covid among staff adding to healthcare pressures, say NHS leaders

NHS bosses have warned the high prevalence of long Covid among staff is adding to rising healthcare pressures, amid growing concern that the new omicron variant could further drive infections and absences in the workforce.

Some 40,000 (3.26%) of healthcare workers in the UK are estimated to have long Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics. This figure has risen by 5,000 since July.

Many will be unable to work, though others are continuing to work despite their debilitating symptoms, experts say.

“Trust leaders have told us they are concerned about the prevalence of long Covid amongst health and care staff,” said Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers.

“Staff who are unwell need time to recover with support. But this may worsen unavoidable absences and sickness levels in the NHS at a time when pressures on the health service are mounting.”

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Source: The Independent, 9 December 2021

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Long Covid ‘could cost UK around £2,500,000,000 a year’

The MP leading an investigation into coronavirus fears long Covid could cost the UK around £2.5 billion a year. 

Layla Moran believes the emerging crisis is comparable to the impact rheumatoid arthritis has on the health service, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to be dealing with the condition for months. 

The ONS says around one in ten people who test positive will go on to develop long Covid, a catch all term to describe a host of ongoing symptoms in coronavirus patients. More than 1.7 million COVID-19 infections have been reported since Christmas Day in the UK. 

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Ms Moran – who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus, said: "The amount of money that we are expecting to spend long term on long Covid could be similar to rheumatoid arthritis. How many people know someone with rheumatoid arthritis? It is going to be higher for long Covid."

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Source: The Metro, 10 February 2021

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Long Covid ‘brain fog’ may be due to leaky blood-brain barrier, study finds

From forgetfulness to difficulties concentrating, many people who have Long Covid experience “brain fog”. Now researchers say the symptom could be down to the blood-brain barrier becoming leaky.

The barrier controls which substances or materials enter and exit the brain. “It’s all about regulating a balance of material in blood compared to brain,” said Prof Matthew Campbell, co-author of the research at Trinity College Dublin.

“If that is off balance then it can drive changes in neural function and if this happens in brain regions that allow for memory consolidation/storage then it can wreak havoc.”

Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Campbell and colleagues report how they analysed serum and plasma samples from 76 patients who were hospitalised with Covid in March or April 2020, as well 25 people before the pandemic.

Among other findings, the team discovered that samples from the 14 Covid patients who self-reported brain fog contained higher levels of a protein called S100β than those from Covid patients without this symptom, or people who had not had Covid.

This protein is produced by cells within the brain, and is not normally found in the blood, suggesting these patients had a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier.

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Source: The Guardian, 22 February 2024

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Long A&E waits worst on record

Long A&E waits last month hit their highest level since public records began, as NHS England warns it’s battling its “busiest winter on record”.

There were 192,168 accident and emergency department attendees who waited more than 12 hours from time of arrival, around 13 per cent of all attendances. Both the number and proportion of 12-hour waits were the highest recorded since NHSE began routinely publishing this data in February 2023.

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 12 February 2026

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Long A&E waits for hip breaks can increase odds of death

People who face long waits in A&E after fracturing a hip are at higher risk of death, a study suggests.

Patients who wait more than four hours are also more likely to have a longer stint in hospital, experts found.

Researchers examined data on hip fracture patients aged 50 and over at a trauma centre in Lothian, Scotland, between January 2019 to the end of June 2022.

Delayed disposition from our emergency department was associated with an increased mortality risk and longer length of hospital stay in patients presenting with a hip fracture

Academics found that the odds of still being alive three months after hospital admission were “significantly lower” for patients who were in A&E for more than four hours compared to those who spent less time in the emergency room.

Those who waited more than four hours had a 36% increased odds of dying within 90 days after their hip break compared to those who spent a shorter period in A&E.

The researchers said that the increased risk is the equivalent of “one additional death at 90 days for every 36 patients who waited longer than 4 hours in the emergency department”.

In light of the findings, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has introduced a new “fast track” service so the majority of patients with hip fracture wait for no more than two hours in the emergency room.

Lead author Dr Nicholas Clement, from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh, said: “We’ve developed a fast track care pathway, just in the knowledge of what this study is found and as part of a quality improvement project.

“Our patients – those that don’t have to like another problem like a heart attack or a chest infection and can go straight at the ward – they go to the ward within two hours now.

“The best thing is that they spend as little time in the emergency department as possible and go to the ward, because they need to come in the hospital anyway – they’ve got a hip fracture, it’s not like any decision needs to be made, they need to come straight in the hospital to get the hip fracture fixed.”

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Source: The Independent, 8 October 2024

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Long A&E wait times lead to more than 250 needless deaths a week

More than 250 patients a week could be dying unnecessarily, due to long waits in A&E in England, according to analysis of NHS data.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine analysed the 1.5 million who waited 12 hours or more to be admitted in 2023.

A previous data study had calculated the level of risk of people dying after long waits to start treatment and found it got worse after five hours.

The government says the number seen within a four-hour target is improving. This is despite February seeing the highest number of attendances to A&E on record, it adds.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) carried out a similar analysis in 2022, which at that time resulted in an estimate of 300-500 excess deaths - more deaths than would be expected - each week.

The analysis uses a statistical model based on a large study of more than five million NHS patients that was published in 2021.

RCEM president Dr Adrian Boyle said long waits were continuing to put patients at risk of serious harm.

"In 2023, more than 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more in major emergency departments, with 65% of those awaiting admission," he said.

"Lack of hospital capacity means that patients are staying in longer than necessary and continue to be cared for by emergency department staff, often in clinically inappropriate areas such as corridors or ambulances.

"The direct correlation between delays and mortality rates is clear. Patients are being subjected to avoidable harm."

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Source: BBC News, 1 April 2024

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Londoners several times more likely to get life-saving treatment

The NHS and the Treasury need to make a renewed commitment to increasing the number of patients who benefit from thrombectomy, the Stroke Association has said, as it revealed the service was dependent on just 106 doctors in England.

New analysis due to be published by the charity later this week – and shared with HSJ  – also found only a quarter of thrombectomy units are open 24 hours, seven days a week, with 42% only operating during office hours and Monday to Friday.

Despite an NHS long-term plan target of treating 10% of strokes with a thrombectomy by this year, only 2.8% were benefitting in December 2021 – a smaller proportion than in the US or some other Western European nations. It means nearly 6,000 people who could benefit from thrombectomy are missing out, the charity has calculated.

The Stroke Association’s report also highlighted large apparent regional variation in the share of stroke patients receiving the treatment — with London patients several times more likely to receive the treatment than elsewhere.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 27 July 2022

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Patient Safety Learning is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission Registration number 1180689.

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