Research and development in stroke services

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7537.318

BMJ 2006;332:318 (11 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7537.318

Editorial

Research and development in stroke services

Is taking off in the United Kingdom

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Stroke affects people of the same age and in the same numbersas coronary heart disease¹; thrombolytic therapy is highly effectivefor selected patients in the first three hours²; and both treatmentin stroke units³ and immediate brain imaging⁴ are cost effective.Yet patients and the public have low expectations of outcomesafter stroke.

Moreover, as the National Audit Office (NAO) reports, strokeis not afforded the same priority by the NHS as other seriousdiseases.⁵ The NAO argues that the NHS lacks sufficient emergencyresponses to stroke and effective acute care, provides too fewservices for rehabilitation and support after discharge fromhospital for both patients and carers, and does too little toprevent stroke. The last important lever for improving servicesfor stroke was the national service framework for older people(2001),⁶ which did seed services in most NHS hospitals, butthere is still much . . . [Full text of this article]

Damian Jenkinson, associate director, service development and training

UK Stroke Research Network, ww.uksrn.ac.uk
(damian.jenkinson@rbch.nhs.uk)

Gary A Ford, director

UK Stroke Research Network, ww.uksrn.ac.uk

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