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.

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Source: HSJ, 27 July 2022