Stroke patients are often left disabled despite surgery

One doctor believes the system takes so long that patients will not be offered "clot-busting drugs" within the three hour window needed for them to work.

The stroke unit at Frenchay has asked Avon Ambulance Service to upgrade the priority it gives to stroke patients.

The service says it has to consider the idea more before a change of approach.

Frenchay is the only hospital in the West offering patients a new type of treatment which involves injecting people with the drug thrombolysis.

The sooner we get them to hospital, the more likely they are to benefit from thrombolysis Dr Neil Baldwin Stroke specialist

Doctors say this can reduce the chances of being permanently disabled by a third. But it has to be given within three hours.

Avon Ambulance Service currently classifies stroke patients as category B - which means they try to get to them within 15 minutes of a call.

But the stroke unit at Frenchay has asked the service to upgrade stroke patients to category A - which would mean arriving within eight minutes.

Dr Neil Baldwin, a stroke specialist at Frenchay, said: "If patients are to receive the drug, there are a number of things we do that take time.

Patient safety

"The sooner we get them to hospital, the more likely they are to benefit from thrombolysis."

In a statement, Avon Ambulance Service said: "As progress is made towards more effective treatment for patients suffering a stroke, it is vital that all stakeholders involved in such developments participate in proper and open discussion.

"Prior to introduction, the merits and implications of any new intervention must be considered fully, in order to guarantee safe and efficient practices.