Trust leading way in treating stroke victims

PEOPLE suffering from strokes in North Staffordshire are more likely to survive than almost anywhere else in the country.

New figures show the University Hospital of North Staffordshire's Neurosciences department has the fourth best survival record in Britain – and the best in the West Midlands.

Over the past year, the hospital trust recorded 171 deaths with a stroke diagnosis, compared with an expected level of 225 using a prediction formula that covers factors such as levels of deprivation and general illness within the population.

Service lead Dr Indira Natarajan said: "We have been building our service for many years and statistics like these show what fantastic progress we have made.

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"Through the use of thrombolysis injections within four hours of stroke, we are able to give our patients a greater chance of survival. These injections thin the blood after a stroke, reducing the ability of the blood to form clots in the brain.

"We also have comprehensive rehabilitation programmes that aim to improve a patient's quality of life, or even a full recovery."

Dr Natarajan added: "We have come so far in such a short time."

The department moved from sub-standard accommodation to the new superhospital in March and its experts even use 'tele-medicine' to save the lives stroke patients in other hospitals, via live television monitors.

Chief executive Julia Bridgewater said: "These survival statistics show the team are a genuine credit to the hospital and people of North Staffordshire."