Memorandum submitted by Different Strokes
Different Strokes is a charity run by younger
stroke survivors for younger stroke survivors to support their
special needs.
We are delighted that the Committee of Public
Accounts is hearing evidence on 8 February concerning the NAO's
Report Reducing brain damage: faster access to better stroke care.
As an organisation, we welcome and support much
of the report's content. It is, however, notable that the main
form of haemorrhagic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, goes unmentioned.
Although ICH accounts for only 10-15% of strokes
it has relatively higher prevalence amongst people of working
age and markedly worse outcomes in terms of mortality and morbidity.
We therefore estimate that it may account for up to a quarter
of premature deaths from stroke covered by the PSA target.
Against that background, we are shortly launching
the enclosed report, A bleeding shame. This highlights the significance
of ICH and the need for rapid scanning to distinguish between
strokes caused by bleeding and by clotting in order to improve
outcomes. The report has been sponsored by Novo Nordisk Limited.
We recognise that there is a wide range of sometimes
challenging factors presently delaying scans, many of them occurring
outside the hospital. Nevertheless, even where patients reach
hospital within what is emerging as the key therapeutic window
of three hours, only a small proportion are scanned on arrival.
In the interests of making rapid and realistic progress, the report
therefore recommends that:
— current guidelines for scanning be
urgently updated to maximise the therapeutic opportunities for
those arriving within three hours; and
— commissioners be encouraged to stipulate
immediate scanning for all suspected stroke patients arriving
at hospital within three hours of onset.
Your Committee's support for these recommendations
would be much appreciated.
Christina Meacham
Chief Executive
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