Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department provides to NHS trusts on safe travelling times for (a) heart attack and (b) stroke patients for emergency admissions. [135348]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease published in March 2000 sets the standard that people thought to be suffering from heart attack should be given thrombolysis (treatment with clotbusting drugs) within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. Where the journey time to hospital is routinely more than 30 minutes, the NSF states that other models of treatment should be considered, for example pre-hospital thrombolysis.
Angioplasty given as an emergency treatment (known as primary angioplasty) is developing as an alternative treatment to thrombolysis in some cardiac centres. No guidance has been issued on safe travelling times to receive primary angioplasty. Current evidence is that this technique leads to improved outcomes compared to thrombolysis, even if performed up to three hours from time of call for help.
No guidance has been issued on safe travelling times for stroke patients. The Department is preparing a stroke strategy, which will include guidance on the emergency treatment of stroke.
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