§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 5 August 2003,Official Report, column 958W, on stroke services, how many and what percentage of hospitals have had a working specialist stroke unit in each (a) region and (b) strategic health authority in each of the last six years for which figures are available. [129122]
§ Dr. LadymanThe most comprehensive source of information is the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians. The audit was commissioned by the national health service in 1998 and was last updated in 2002. The results can be found at http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/strokeaudit 01–02. pdf.
The 2002 audit shows that 73 per cent. of trusts that participated had a stroke unit, compared to 56 per cent. three years earlier. The audit shows that 80 per cent. of trusts that participated have a consultant physician with specialist knowledge of stroke who is formally recognised as having principal responsibility for stroke services. While it is recognised that some services need to increase their capacity, the audit notes that very significant improvements have already been made.
Our major vehicle for further improving standards for stroke services is through the older people's national service framework (NSF), which sets specific milestones for improvement by 2004 of stroke services in primary care trusts, specialist services and general hospitals that care for people suffering from a stroke. Our document, "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", which sets for the NHS a priorities and planning framework for 2003–06, makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority and that the 2004 milestone around specialist stroke services is a key target.
We monitor progress against the key milestones in the NSF. From the information gathered so far, we know that 83 per cent. of the hospitals which have replied now have plans to have a specialist stroke service in place by April 2004.