Patient waited 27 days to be admitted to stroke unit when it should have taken 24 hours
- SNP government accused of letting down victims with ‘dangerous’ delays in life-saving care
The SNP Government has been accused of letting down stroke victims amid ‘dangerous’ delays in life-saving care.
Some patients are waiting days for vital services that should be given within hours, figures show.
One waited 27 days for admission to a stroke unit rather than the recommended 24 hours.
Another waited 13 days for a screening test that should be carried out in four hours.
Roz McCall, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said such delays were ‘terrifying and potentially life-threatening’ and symptomatic of the SNP’s mismanagement of the NHS.
One patient waited 12 days for a brain scan which should have been done within 12 hours
Mrs McCall’s husband Graeme suffered a stroke in February 2021 and she is grateful for prompt emergency treatment that saved his life.
She said: ‘These delays are dangerous and intolerable for stroke victims. Having seen Graeme suffer a stroke, I know how crucial speed of response is in tackling this awful condition.
‘Time is hugely significant for a patient’s prospects of recovery, so these delays for basic treatments and assessments, such as thrombolysis [a procedure that dissolves blood clots] and swallow screening [to check if patients can eat and drink safely], are terrifying, potentially life-threatening.’
She added: ‘Frontline staff are overstretched due to the dire workforce planning of successive SNP health secretaries, while patients are being endangered by the inability of the NHS to cope with what ought to be urgent, priority cases.
‘Under the SNP’s watch, years of mismanagement and a failure to direct resources effectively have brought Scotland’s NHS to near breaking point.’
The figures were released to the Scottish Conservatives by Public Health Scotland after a freedom of information (FOI) request.
Tory MSP Roz McCall said delays in the treatment of stroke victims are ‘dangerous and intolerable’
A report in June found the number of Scots suffering a stroke has risen but standards of care are falling.
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. It can be caused by a clot or a burst blood vessel.
There were 11,257 cases of stroke in 2022, an increase for the third year running, but just half of patients got the full range of stroke care standards such as screenings and tests – a drop from 57 per cent in 2021.
The gold standard for patients is the ‘stroke care bundle’ which includes access to a stroke unit, brain imaging and a swallow test.
The FOI response disclosed that one patient last year waited 12 days for a brain scan, which should be carried out within 12 hours.
Another waited 13 days for a swallow screening that should be done within four hours. And one waited 27 days for admission to a stroke unit, rather than the advised 24 hours.
Last year 68 per cent of patients received a swallow test, compared with 70 per cent in 2021, and 63 per cent of patients were referred to a stroke unit, down from 70 per cent the previous year.
The Scottish Government said: ‘We expect health boards to identify aspects of their stroke services where work is needed to improve local standards of care.’
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