In Scotland, whether a stroke patient receives the most advanced treatment can depend on the day of the week or time of day their stroke occurs, according to reports. More than 10,000 Scottish residents have a stroke every year, with about 150,000 people currently living in Scotland with the effects of the condition. Stroke is Scotland's third biggest killer and the leading cause of complex adult disability.
In 2023, there were 3,806 deaths in Scotland where cerebrovascular disease, including stroke, was recorded as the underlying cause, 52 more than in 2019 before the pandemic. Tony Bundy from Clackmannanshire died in June 2023 after suffering a stroke while shopping at a Costco store in Glasgow. His family said he waited 17 hours for thrombectomy surgery that might have saved his life.
Similar thrombectomy access problems exist in England, where the NHS has not made mechanical thrombectomy available around the clock across the country despite ministers repeatedly promising it would. The health service was expected to make thrombectomy available everywhere in England 24/7 from 1 April, but seven of England's 24 regional stroke centres are still not providing thrombectomy on an all-hours basis, mainly due to insufficient staff. The seven centres not providing 24/7 thrombectomy are in Hull, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Brighton, and Coventry, while seventeen of England's 24 thrombectomy centres already offer it around the clock all year round.
NHS England had made extra money available to the seven areas to secure 24/7 access to thrombectomy, with funding confirmed in February. Mechanical thrombectomy is described by doctors as a gamechanging intervention that, if done quickly, can help someone who has had a severe stroke avoid serious disability. The NHS spends more than £100m a year on thrombectomy treatment, and more than 100,000 people a year in the UK have a stroke, of whom 38,000 die and many others are left with life-changing disabilities.
Experts fear the NHS's failure to deliver universal 24/7 access to thrombectomy could mean patients who have a stroke at night, in the evening, or at weekends in underserved areas may become avoidably severely disabled or die.