Stroke victims face 48-hour wait for a brain scan

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A report by the National Audit Office today reveals that a "postcode lottery" means waiting times for vital brain scans can be as long as 48 hours.

Epsom General and St Helier near Sutton top the league for the worst average waiting times of between 25 to 48 hours.

Those with the shortest waits include Barts and the London, Chelsea and Westminster and Guy's and St Thomas'. Patients are either seen immediately or have a four-hour delay to be scanned.

Brain scans enable doctors to give an accurate diagnosis of the type of stroke they need to treat. Stroke is the second highest cause of death and the most common cause of adult disability in London.

Health chiefs in the capital have drawn up a major overhaul of stroke services with care provided by a series of rapid-access units providing specialist care.

Stroke care in Britain costs the NHS £3billion a year with around 300,000 people in the UK living with severe to moderate disability after an attack.

Stroke patients should be immediately admitted to a specialist stroke unit. But in 2008 only 17 per cent reached a unit within four hours of arrival at hospital.

Treating more people at home or in high street walk-in centres could save the NHS £15billion, says the CBI.

In statement, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "It is important to remember that the data for this report was taken from audits carried out in 2008 and 2009.

"Since then, we have worked hard to improve our stroke services at Epsom and St Helier hospitals.

"The majority of patients are now seen a lot quicker and every patient who needs an urgent CT scan is scanned within one hour of the request being made."