A musician who suffered a stroke on stage has described access to the life altering treatment she obtained as a “postcode lottery”.
Nikki Summerill from Country Durham fell ailing in 2022 whereas performing in Northumberland, the place speedy access to a mechanical thrombectomy helped her to regain her speech inside 20 minutes.
The NHS was anticipated to make the process out there 24 hours a day throughout England from the beginning of April, however seven regional stroke centres, together with James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, have missed the deadline.
Due to employees shortages, James Cook solely provides the the blood clot removing treatment between 08:00 and 20:00, however Summerill fell ailing exterior these hours and mentioned her treatment would have been delayed if it had occurred in Middlesbrough.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Tees mentioned it’s dedicated to creating a 24/7 service and has lately prolonged cowl at James Cook.
