New guidelines to boost stroke care

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People suspected of having a stroke should be admitted to a specialist unit where they should receive clot-busting drugs as soon as possible, they said.

Those who have suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) - sometimes called a "mini-stroke" - should also be diagnosed and treated within 24 hours.

A total of 20,000 people have a TIA in England every year and more than 110,000 have a stroke. Around 50,000 people die from stroke each year and it kills more women than breast cancer.

The two new guidelines were published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) and the Royal College of Physicians.

They said stroke units should have immediate access to medical staff specifically trained to deliver thrombolysis (clot-busting drugs) and treat stroke patients. The units should also have services to carry out scans and staff trained in rehabilitation.

All patients with acute stroke should be taken to hospital as quickly as possible and transferred from A&E to an acute stroke unit.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are 192 sites out of a possible 215 with a stroke unit, but experts want every one to have a dedicated unit.

The Royal College of Physicians estimates that thousands of lives could be saved if patients were admitted straight to stroke units.

Research shows that only one in five patients is currently admitted directly to an acute stroke unit. Around 4,500 people could be prevented from being disabled if they received thrombolysis, it said.