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Revolutionary stroke drug not available at DGH until end of March
THE DGH is the only hospital in East Sussex which doesn't provide stroke victims with clot-busting drug treatment found to help some patients recover who otherwise would not.
The DGH, unlike its sister hospital the Conquest in Hastings, provides no access to thrombolysis, the quick response treatment for strokes, or the drug Alteplase, which is used in thrombolysis to break down blood clots and must be given within three hours of symptoms starting.
Health officials say it will be introduced in Eastbourne soon but the daughter of a stroke victim says she is 'incandescent with rage' that the revolutionary new treatment is available in Hastings and won't be available at Eastbourne until March and, even then, it will only be on weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
Teresa Chapman, of College Road, Eastbourne, whose mother had a serious stroke, said, "People lucky enough to recognise and act on the symptoms have the chance of a good recovery from a stroke if they are eligible for and receive, within three hours, the medication other health providers are offering and the government is backing.
"It can make the difference to stroke survivors of not living with the terrible after-effects of a stroke, such as limb and facial paralysis, speech problems and mobility difficulties.
"I cannot truly believe that a health authority has the right to possibly sentence me and others like me to a zombie-like existence if we were unfortunate enough to have a stroke in the future."
She said she believed it was as important an issue as the fight to stop maternity services at the hospital being downgraded.
The DGH plans to introduce thrombolysis on weekdays from 9am to 5pm from the end of March.
A spokesperson at the Primary Care Trust said, "We have been working closely with our colleagues at East Sussex Hospitals Trust to get a safe and effective thrombolysis service in place as quickly as possible at the DGH in Eastbourne.
"We expect the service to be up and running very shortly."
A DGH spokesperson said, "There are plans to introduce a stroke thrombolysis service Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm at the DGH at the end of March.
"Thombolysis is currently licensed for patients up to the age of 80 years old and must be given within three hours of the onset of stroke.
The treatment is not risk-free and not all patients are suitable, with only about one to 11 per cent of stroke patients fulfilling the right criteria to have the treatment. Highly trained specialists must assess patients before deciding whether it is appropriate to give the treatment."
The introduction of thrombolysis falls short of the recommendations of an East Sussex Stroke Strategy produced by NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald for 2009 to 2012, which sets a target of working with hospital trusts to introduce 24-hour thrombolysis services.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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