Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-05-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on ways of improving awareness of transient ischaemic attacks on the part of (a) GPs, (b) staff in A&E departments and (c) other health staff.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is responsible for improving awareness of transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) amongst front-line health staff. In addition, both the recent Act FAST campaign conducted by Public Health England and the Stroke Association campaign launched last week will improve awareness of TIAs amongst professionals and the public alike.

The provision of timely access to TIA clinics has greatly improved over recent years and more patients are having carotid surgery in a timely fashion than ever before. However, we recognise that there are still improvements to be made and part of the work of reorganising and modernising stroke services involves ensuring that TIA care is of the highest quality.