NHS failing to treat mini-stroke victims quickly enough, says report

People worried about stroke may wish to consider taking out health insurance following a damning report on the NHS.

A study has found that failure by the health organisation to quickly treat victims of mini-strokes - characterised by symptoms such as facial or arm weakness, speech problems or blurred vision - is costing an estimated 500 lives a year.

While partly down to patients' inability to indentify and report symptoms, the Royal College of Physicians audit claims it is also because the NHS regards such cases as low priority.

This is despite the fact that sufferers are at risk of having a severe stroke if they do not receive surgery as soon as possible.

The government's National Stroke Strategy guidelines say an operation should be carried out within 48 hours while the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has a two-week target.

However, an audit from the Vascular Surgical Society and carried out at the Royal College of Physicians reveals that just three per cent of patients receive an operation within 48 hours and one third do so within the two-week deadline.

An estimated 150,000 people in the UK suffer a stroke each year, which equates to one every five minutes.

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