Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from the Stroke Association and other stakeholders on the future of the National Stroke Strategy.

David Mowat

The Sentinel Stroke National Audit programme (SSNAP) continuously monitors the quality of stroke care across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Audit results are returned to providers so that they can identify areas for improvement.

There is good evidence that providing detailed information in a timely way has enabled the quality of stoke care to steadily improve. Since the introduction of SSNAP nearly four years ago when no teams scored an ‘A’, there are now units achieving this level, indicating excellent care. The National Clinical Director for Stroke, in association with the clinical networks, continues to work with hospitals to support those in need of improvement.

NHS England is aware that the provision of stroke care in the community remains an area that has not progressed as quickly as hospital care. However, providing data to teams and working with the clinical commissioning groups to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned should help to improve care.

In August this year, NHS England’s Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, and Professor Anthony Rudd, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke, met with Juliet Bouverie, the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association to discuss issues of common interest. Additionally, Professor Rudd meets regularly with various members of staff of the Stroke Association to ensure that the views of the charity are heard and understood. Departmental officials have also met with the Stroke Association.