Health boards can't cope post-covid

NHS services for one of Scotland’s biggest killers have fallen well below acceptable standards, charities have warned.

Figures just published by Public Health Scotland show that only half of the 10,803 Scots who had a stroke last year received treatment defined by national standards.

Admission to a stroke unit within one day for those suffering from an attack increased from 63% in 2022 to 66% in 2023 but remains below the 82% achieved in 2019.

John Watson, associate director for the Stroke Association in Scotland said the statistics show the country's health boards are still struggling to provide pre-Covid levels of stroke care which is having a catastrophic impact on stroke survivors and their families.

He added: “We welcome this honest appraisal that stroke services are being held back by wider hospital systems failures, as a point that everyone working in stroke can learn from as we strive to provide stroke care that will avoid people in Scotland dying and suffering life-changing disability.   

“We work closely with health boards and recognise the tremendous efforts of stroke teams on the ground, but they need more people, more innovation and more support to tackle the alarming number of people in Scotland affected by stroke.

“We want the health board leaders made accountable for stroke in last year’s Stroke Improvement Plan to see investment in the round. It will reduce ongoing support needs and, in turn, the pressure on the overstretched health and social care system.” 

Meanwhile Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is calling for the Scottish Government to speed up investment in stroke care.

It says years of failing to achieve stroke care targets is a wakeup call for urgent action from the Scottish Government.

Allan Cowie, chief operating officer for the charity, said: “We want to see the Scottish Government investing more in stroke care to ensure that when people have a stroke they can be confident they will get the best start to their journey of recovery.” 

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.