TREATMENT for stroke patients in Herefordshire and the local area could be "revolutionised", because of a £1.1m investment in services.

The money will come from the Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which has been working closely with Wye Valley NHS Trust.

Dr Andy Watts, CCG Chairman, said: “We’re committed to delivering a complete stroke pathway and have been working closely with Wye Valley NHS Trust to ensure local people who have a stroke have quick and easy access to a high quality service tailored to their individual needs.

“At the same time we’ve been working with patients and the general public to raise awareness of the causes of stroke in order to directly engage people in reducing their own risk factors as well as helping to teach them to recognise the signs of stroke and take rapid action when they do occur.”

Richard Beeken, Chief Executive at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “This is great news for the county and those communities who live just across our borders. It means we can bolster our current stroke service to provide stroke care on par with the best available in the UK.

“We are hugely indebted to the CCG for its financial contribution and far sightedness, which, once again, proves the benefits of collaborative working which is bringing huge benefits to the county.”

Key elements of the new provision will include High-quality round-the-clock stroke services with the support of networks run by stroke consultants; additional nurses and therapists and raising the number of stroke consultants from two to three.

An early supported discharge service to support and rehabilitate patients in their own homes

A phased approach to developing the new service, which has the full backing of the Stroke Association, will be taken.; and the new service is based on models of national best practice and recommendations made by the British Association of Stroke Physicians.