Stroke Association response to Budget announcement: Government must invest now in disability-reducing stroke treatment to save in the long term

Charlotte Nicholls, Head of Policy at the Stroke Association, said:

“The extra £5.9 billion NHS capital investment confirmed by the Chancellor today is a welcome boost. Improving diagnostic capacity and tackling elective care is vital, but so is universal access to thrombectomy, a disability-reducing and highly cost effective treatment for stroke, promised in the NHS Long Term Plan by 2022.

“Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK, is the fourth biggest cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability. Mechanical thrombectomy is a game-changing treatment that removes the stroke causing blood clot from the brain to restore blood flow and stop parts of your brain dying.

“Described as a ‘Lazarus moment’, receiving a thrombectomy treatment can be the difference between facing a lifetime of severe disability and walking out of hospital the next day. Thrombectomy dramatically reduces the severity of disability cause by stroke and all the associated long-term costs of ongoing care, and saves the NHS £47,000 per patient over five years.

“Yet access to this treatment depends on where you live. Current rates of thrombectomy stand at 1.8% of stroke patients nationally – far off the 10% NHS England target by 2022.

“Capital investment in imaging equipment, thrombectomy centres and workforce training is essential to rescue this Long Term Plan commitment. This would enable better and fairer access to this treatment, truly levelling up patients’ chances of making a fuller recovery post-stroke.”