By Ian Dipple Monday 22 July 2013 Updated: 22/07 15:44
STROKE services will be removed from the Alexandra Hospital this week it has been confirmed.
From Wednesday (July 24) anyone calling an ambulance reporting the symptoms of stroke will be taken to Worcester and not the Alex to a new expanded 24/7 Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU). Anyone who turns up at the Alex who appears to be having a stroke will automatically be transferred. Stroke beds at the Alex will be closed to new admissions.
The new unit will include an acute stroke ward and give patients access to an extra two consultants with expertise in thrombolysis - a life saving clot busting treatment - a nursing team specifically trained to care for stroke patients and support from physiotherapists, dietitians and occupational therapists.
TIA (mini stroke) clinics will remain unchanged and continue to run at the Alex on Fridays.
The decision to centralise stroke care for the whole of the county into the Worcestershire Royal was made last year. Health bosses argue the move will cut death rates, the lenth of people's stay in hospital, make it easier to recruit consultants and develop a comprehensive service on a par which what is already offered in places like London and Stoke. The move has also been backed by The Stroke Association.
Research shows following the centralisation of stroke services in London the number of people receiving life thrombolysis more than tripled from 587 patients between February and June 2010 compared to 174 for the same period in 2009.
But the average travel time from home to a HASU in the capital is just 14 minutes and will be greater between Redditch and Worcester which has already caused concern amongst residents and politicians.
Church Hill resident Ian Johnson said the location of the Alex was a key factor when his wife Wendy had a stroke six years ago.
"We didn't know what was going on but we knew something wasn't right and we had a long discussion about whether to go or not and it was only because the Alex is where it is we went. If stroke care was not an option she wouldn't have gone and would be dead now."
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Update: Stroke services to be removed