Stroke care concerns in north Wales addressed

Health board officials met with the community health council on Tuesday

Action has been taken to address concerns since a report said north Wales was a "poor place" to have a stroke, said health officials.

A watchdog said care has "improved dramatically" since a study in 2014.

The update was given at a meeting of the North Wales Community Health Council and Betsi Cadwaldwr health board on Tuesday.

The ambulance service said it always ensured stroke patients received treatment as quickly as possible.

During the meeting in Mold, Flintshire, the health board admitted that it needed to be more transparent with information when dealing with the health council as it had previously been forced to submit a Freedom of Information request to discover certain data.

It pointed to figures from the Royal College of Physicians regarding stroke treatment across the UK.

In 2014, it concluded that more needed to be done in all Welsh hospitals to get patients treated more quickly, including the hand over between paramedics and hospital staff.

Sonia Thompson, the Welsh Ambulance Service's head of operations for the health board area, said: "Critically ill patients - like stroke patients - are our priority, and are handed over as quickly and as safely as possible to hospital staff."