Lord Allan of Hallam
Main Page: Lord Allan of Hallam (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Allan of Hallam's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Stroke Care
Lord Allan of Hallam Excerpts(9 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Lord Allan of Hallam (LD)
My Lords, we are fortunate to have the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme—SSNAP—to help us monitor compliance with the national guideline. In its very good easy access report for the first quarter of this year, it tells us that three out of five stroke patients are not taken to a stroke unit immediately and it calls for urgent action in this area. What are the Government doing to make sure that stroke patients are immediately admitted to stroke units in line with that guideline?
Lord Markham (Con)
The noble Lord is absolutely correct. As mentioned, speed to the right place is vital; videos in ambulances are one way of communicating ahead and speaking to the paramedics so that they are ready to receive them, which is really important. The latest data I have seen is that 92% of people are now sent straight to the stroke ward on arrival, which sounds promising but is somewhat at odds with the Sentinel figure he mentioned. I will find out more about that and get back to the noble Lord.