DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 5 December 2008
- Stroke Strategy
first anniversary marks improvements in stroke services -
A three-year £12 million communications campaign to promote
public awareness around stroke was announced today by Health
Minister Ann Keen.
The campaign will be launched in February 2009, and will be
supported by advertising, public relations and direct marketing communications.
Stroke, the loss of brain function due to a blood clot or bleed
in the brain, is the third leading cause of death in the UK and
the single largest cause of adult disability in England.
The awareness campaign will teach the public and NHS staff to
remember FAST - Face Arm Speech Time to call 999 - to help them
recognise the symptoms of stroke and understand that prompt
emergency treatment can reduce the risk of death and disability.
Improving public awareness of the symptoms of stroke is a key
element of the National Stroke Strategy, published one year ago
today. Since the launch of the strategy, major progress has been
made in the organisation of stroke services.
The National Stroke Strategy mandated the establishment of Stroke
Care Networks to ensure that health and social care services for
stroke are better integrated and better planned. One year on, all
services in England now fall within a Stroke Care Network.
The Networks ensure that patients experience a seamless
transition across stroke services within and between health and
social care, and help the NHS and Local Authorities to work
together effectively to drive forward improvements in care.
The Royal College of Physicians' Sentinel Audit published in
August 2008 showed that 96 percent of hospitals in England now
offer specialist acute stroke care which includes:
* A
consultant with responsibility for stroke
* Formal links with
patient and carer organisations
* Multidisciplinary meetings
at least weekly to plan patient care
* Provision of
information to patients about stroke
* Continuing education
programmes for staff
Improvements have also been made to the management of minor
strokes (transient ischaemic attack or TIA) with:
* All
hospitals now offering CT scanning to diagnose stroke using x-rays
of the brain
* 94 percent of hospitals have an on-site TIA
service where minor stroke patients at risk of having a full
stroke can be identified and given preventative treatment
Health Minister, Ann Keen said,
"As a former nurse, I know the NHS is rising to the
challenges set out one year ago in the National Stroke Strategy by
driving forward significant improvements in both emergency stroke
services and long term rehabilitative care for people who have had
a stroke.
"We want to build on this progress by helping the public to
recognise the symptoms of stroke and dial 999 quickly. This
campaign will give people a better understanding of stroke and the
importance of fast treatment so that more lives can be saved and
more long-term disabilities prevented."
Professor Roger Boyle, National Director for Heart Disease and
Stroke, said:
"Launched a year ago today, the Stroke Strategy is a highly
ambitious programme of improvements that will result in a stroke
service that is among the best in the world.
"Over the past year, great progress has been made across
stroke services, from better organisation of acute stroke care, to
long-term support for patients who have had a stroke, and training
of more stroke specialist physicians.
"The three year communications campaign, that will be
launched in February, will help the public and NHS staff to use
FAST to recognise the symptoms of stroke and appreciate the need
to act quickly. It's important to remember that the faster a
stroke patient receives emergency treatment, the better their
chances are of surviving and avoiding long-term disability."
Jon Barrick, chief executive of The Stroke Association, said:
"The Department of Health's stroke awareness campaign
is vital. Better public understanding of stroke, its symptoms and
treating it as a medical emergency will significantly improve the
chances of recovery for the 150,000 people who have a stroke every
year in the UK. The Stroke Association has been promoting FAST
since 2005. We know that it's the best way for people to
remember how to recognise the signs of stroke and call 999
straight away. The awareness campaign will give this work a
fantastic boost and could help reduce avoidable deaths resulting
from stroke."
Notes to Editors
1. For more information on the National Stroke Strategy, visit:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyandguidance/dh_081062
2. FAST is used by paramedics to assess three specific symptoms
of stroke prior to a person being admitted to hospital:
Facial
weakness - can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye
drooped?
Arm weakness - can the person raise both
arms?
Speech problems - can the person speak clearly and
understand what you say?
Time to call 999
3. When the Stroke strategy was launched a year ago, it was
announced that £45 million would be allocated to Local
Authorities over the next three years (2008 - 2011) to improve
stroke care for adult stroke survivors and their carers in the community.
4. To meet the commitment made in the Stroke Strategy to provide
specialist stroke care, £16 million has been allocated to fund
training for one stroke specialist physician in each Strategic
Health Authority.
5. Stroke statistics:
- Stroke is currently the third leading
cause of death in the UK and the single largest cause of adult
disability in England
- An estimated 150,000 people have a
stroke in the UK each year
- There are over 67,000 deaths due
to stroke each year in the UK
- Stroke is the third most
common cause of death in England and Wales, after heart disease
and cancer
- Stroke accounts for 9 per cent of all deaths in
men and 13 per cent of deaths in women in the UK
- Stroke has
a greater disability impact than any other chronic disease. Over
300,000 people are living with moderate to severe disabilities as
a result of stroke
- The direct cost of stroke to the NHS is
estimated to be £2.8 billion. The cost to the wider economy is
£1.8 billion. The informal care cost is £2.4 billion
- The
total costs of stroke care are predicted to rise in real terms by
30 per cent between 1991 and 2010
- Stroke patients occupy
around 20 per cent of all acute hospital beds and 25 per cent of
long term beds
- Stroke units save lives: for stroke patients
general wards have a 14% to 25% higher mortality rate than stroke
units
- Each year over 130,000 people in England and Wales
have a stroke. About 10,000 of these are under retirement age