Thousands of UK stroke patients ‘left facing a life of disability’ after being denied crucial treatment

Thousands of stroke victims are being denied access to a crucial, life-altering treatment, a charity has warned.

The Stroke Association has highlighted "stark inequalities" in whether patients receive a thrombectomy – a procedure that removes a blood clot from a blocked blood vessel in the brain.

Getting this treatment in the hours after stroke symptoms start can save a person’s life or reduce the risk of life-long disability, as it reduces brain damage caused by a clot.

Analysis by the Stroke Association reveals that 1,222 patients missed out on a thrombectomy between October and December last year, despite the procedure needing to be carried out within the first 24 hours.

The charity attributes these disparities to the fact that some parts of the country lack access to round-the-clock thrombectomy services.

NHS plans, introduced in 2019, had set ambitious targets to expand thrombectomy provision from just 1% to 10% of stroke patients, predicting this would enable 1,600 more individuals to live independently each year.

But the Stroke Association said that this critical target remains unmet

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Source: The Independent, 29 April 2026