Date set for 24-hour stroke treatment rollout

The stroke treatment is currently only available between certain hours at Royal Preston Hospital

A potentially life-saving stroke treatment will be available around the clock in Lancashire by early next year, according to the region's health board.

The Royal Preston Hospital already offers the procedure, known as a thrombectomy, to suitable patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria – but only between 08:00 and 18:00 BST.

The hospital was set to start offering the procedure at all hours of the day by September 2024, but the plan had to be pushed back because of difficulties recruiting staff.

A meeting of the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) heard that the treatment would be offered 24 hours a day from 1 February 2026 at the latest.

A thrombectomy is only utilised to treat strokes caused by a blood clot in a large artery in the brain. The procedure involves surgically removing the clot, but it has to be done soon after a stroke occurs to be successful.

Coroner Christopher Long recently warned that limited access to the procedure posed a life-threatening risk to patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He issued the warning at an inquest earlier this year into the death of Michelle Mason, 45, who died at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in June 2024 after suffering a stroke.

Thrombectomy treatment was "considered" in her case, but would not have been available at the time she needed it, the coroner heard.

The ICB's acting medical director, Dr Andy Knox, told the meeting the hospital had now recruited enough interventional radiologists "to be able to fulfil the rota requirements" of 24-hour rollout.

But he said more time was needed to bring in a new consultant.

Dr Knox said the ICB was pushing for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Preston Hospital, to roll out the 24-hour programme by October.

However, he acknowledged it would place the hospital under additional pressure, adding: "We know that things will be in place by 1st February."

He said co-operation had improved with other trusts within north-west England meaning patients from Lancashire and South Cumbria could be transferred elsewhere for a thrombectomy when required in the meantime.

The LDRS has approached the trust for comment.