Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure that all stroke patients are able to be assessed within an hour of their stroke.

The National Stroke Service Model was published in May 2021 which advises providers and commissioners on how stroke units can ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment within one hour of arrival.

In 2022, the National Health Service will fund the implementation of pre-hospital video triage for people with a suspected stroke in a number of locations in England. Patients will receive a video consultation from their home or in an ambulance with a hospital-based stroke clinician, who will advise paramedics. This will increase the specificity of pre-hospital stroke assessment, ensuring those who require treatment in a stroke unit receive it and increase the speed and quality of hyperacute care, including assessment.