Stroke awareness

Stroke is a devastating condition and is the third leading cause of death and the single largest cause of disability in England. It causes around 67,000 deaths in the UK per year, with someone suffering from a stroke every 5 minutes.

Facing this challenge head on, SECAmb was the first ambulance service to appoint a paramedic stroke lead and it has spearheaded a life-saving stroke development programme across Sussex, Surrey and Kent which the Stroke Association has praised as a ‘beacon’ of good practice.

Did you know?

Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke
Of the 150,000 people each year who have a stroke 50,000 will die
Stroke is the third biggest killer and the single greatest cause of disability in the UK
Immediate and long-term care for patients who have had a stroke costs the NHS £2.8bn each year
High blood pressure is the single biggest risk factor for experiencing a stroke

High blood pressure is a silent condition and on average only 20% of men and 30% of women with high blood pressure know they have it. By checking for high blood pressure we can identify those most at risk and potentially prevent a stroke from occurring.

So we decided to take a tour of Kent, Surrey and Sussex offering free blood pressure checks to the public in the hope of imrpoving the awareness of the serious nature of this condition. Since the launch of this campaign we have tested thousands of people with at times alarming results. On average we have referred around 25% of everyone we tested to their GP because they had raised blood pressure and taken 2% straight to hospital with a dangerously high BP. We also managed to pick up on the odd irregular heartbeat and diabetes risk along the way.

We wanted to get the message out to as many people as possible and so alongside the blood pressure testing we also wrapped six of our ambulances in stroke posters and placed them in areas where the risk of stroke was particularly high. This was the first time an ambulance had been used to promote a health message and the feedback from the public has been extremely positive.

The campaign was a huge success and we recently joined up with the Stroke Association to run a nationwide campaign with all of the other ambulance trusts and the rotary clubs and tested BPs up and down the country. We are still testing blood pressures at most of the events we attend and we're always happy to come and talk to groups of people who may be at risk.

To find out more about stroke visit the Stroke Association website for helpful advice and information.

Stroke association