Saving Brains: One Year On
“In other European countries, if you need a thrombectomy, you get a
thrombectomy, it’s as simple as that” Peter Hooper, stroke survivor.
6am on a Sunday morning in June 2020, I was opening the door to let the dogs out into the garden. I suddenly fell out of the door, ending up in a heap on the lawn. I spent ages trying to get up but was unable to because my left arm and leg refused to work. I tried calling for help but I couldn’t speak. I was having a stroke.
What neither my wife nor I knew at the time was that only 8 hospitals in England offered the treatment I urgently needed on a 24/7 basis. It was early on a Sunday, so I was incredibly lucky to be close to one of these 24/7 world-class stroke centres. I was wheeled into an operating theatre just a few hours after my stroke.
"Thanks to my thrombectomy, I run and cycle on the local hills and so far this year, I’ve completed two half marathons. I’m as independent now as I was pre-stroke."
That game-changing surgery was a minimally invasive technique called thrombectomy. Thrombectomy involves using a specially designed clot removal device inserted through a catheter to pull or suck out the clot, to restore blood flow. Like a light switch turning on - the patient visibly and quickly switches on again. Saving weeks or months of intensive care and rehabilitation, and likely permanent disability, I walked unaided off the ward the day after my stroke. The following day at 6am, I opened the door again and took the dogs out for their walk.
An unacceptable amount of people eligible for the procedure simply can’t get access to a specialist centre in the time frame required. In other European countries, if you need a thrombectomy, you get a thrombectomy, it’s a simple as that. Here in the UK, it’s a postcode lottery. I got lucky and it absolutely shouldn’t be a question of luck, not when the difference between treatment and non-treatment is so stark.
Last year alone, 6,903 stroke patients missed out on the game-changing treatment Peter received – that’s two thirds of the patients who needed it. Despite rates gradually increasing, England’s thrombectomy availability lags behind other countries like Germany, Sweden, and Portugal.
Stroke Association is calling for 24/7 universal access to thrombectomy for all stroke patients who are suitable for the treatment. Thrombectomy saves brains, saves money, and changes lives. Find out how you can support the rollout of thrombectomy in our Saving Brains: one year on report
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
