East Sussex stroke services "stretched"
11:00am Wednesday 18th March 2009
The care given to people with strokes in East Sussex is inconsistent, with services stretched to capacity, a watchdog report claims.
East Sussex health overview and scrutiny committee has published a review into the stroke services provided across the county.
The report outlines what hospital and rehabilitation care is available at the moment and what improvements should be made.
Almost 1,160 people were asked to take part in a survey for the report.
The results found the experience of patients and carers varied across the county and services were under pressure.
Conclusions highlighted the need for the public to be made more aware of the causes of stroke and to recognise the symptoms.
A recent national awareness campaign was welcomed but the report calls for local primary care trusts to complement it by targeting specific areas of the county.
The report also said GPs and other frontline health and social care professionals need to be more effective at recognising stroke and more training should be provided for them.
Better follow up care is also needed to ensure people get the regular health checks and medicine they need to reduce the risk of further strokes.
The report said: “The elderly profile of the East Sussex population demands that stroke care is treated as a priority and that the county should be at the forefront of best practice.”
The committee will discuss the report at its next meeting tomorrow at County Hall, Lewes, at 10am.
Copies of the agenda can be found at www.eastsussexhealth.org.
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