Stroke treatment comes to county round the clock

A potentially lifesaving stroke treatment will be available around the clock in Lancashire for the first time from next week.

- by Paul Faulkner

The procedure - known as a thrombectomy - will be on offer 24 hours a day at the Royal Preston Hospital as of Monday.

The site already operates as the comprehensive stroke centre for the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria.

However, difficulties in recruiting the specialist staff needed to perform thrombectomies meant that a previous target date for the introduction of an evening and overnight service, in September 2024, was missed.

The treatment is suitable only for those strokes caused by a blood clot in an artery in the brain - and can benefit up to 15 per cent of stroke patients.