Question reference: S6W-09764
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 13 July 2022
-
Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent data from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit showing that in NHS Lothian the number of stroke admissions rose by 9.5% and the proportion of stroke patients that received thrombolysis fell by 4.3%.
Answer
The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide the best possible care for those who have experienced a stroke, including thrombolysis where considered clinically appropriate.
The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) report, published on 28 June and available at: https://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/index.html , notes a clear effect of the waves of COVID-19 on hospitals.
Stroke admission numbers often fell during the early waves of the pandemic, with patients possibly avoiding seeking medical attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this may help explain the increase in stroke admissions between 2020 and 2021. The trend of increased stroke admissions between 2020 and 2021 is not unique to NHS Lothian and was observed across Scotland.
The proportion of patients who received thrombolysis in NHS Lothian in 2021 (8.9%) was broadly in line with the proportion of stroke patients who received thrombolysis across Scotland (9.1%).