SIX months ago, the county's stroke services were on borrowed time - now they're bidding to be amongst the best in Britain.

Wye Valley NHS Trust and Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have today confirmed a £1.1 million investment in stroke services.

 The sum has been secured through the CCG.

In April, the Hereford Times revealed that stroke patients could have to travel as far as Worcester or Gloucester for treatment with the trust and the CCG at odds over a business case for the services.

The resulting talks brought West Midlands Ambulance Trust, NHS England and the Powys Local Health Board into the fold to shape that case.

A Stroke Programme Board was set up to review current resources and agree plans to improve and put in place seven-day services.

Key elements of the new offer include:

• Round-the-clock stroke services with the support of networks run by stroke consultants.

•  Additional nurses and therapists and the hiring of a third stroke consultant.

•  An early supported discharge service with the emphasis on "own home" rehabilitation.

A phased approach to developing the new service will be based on models of national best practice and recommendations made by the British Association of Stroke Physicians.

Dr Andy Watts, CCG Chairman, said the service would offer a "complete stroke pathway" and raise awareness of causes and risk factors.

Trust chief executive Richard Beeken  said the investment had the potential to put the county's stroke service on par with the best in the UK.

As reported by the Hereford Times, the trust and the CCG agreed in June agreed on keeping and developing he services close to home.

Two months earlier the trust board had been told that the trust could not continue to provide a service that was "under-resourced" and recognised as "sub-optimal."

The trust had developed a business case for investment in the service needed to meet national performance standards.

That case had the service needing £1 million a year to make it viable and handling up to five times the present demand.

According to NHS service tariffs, the county with one conformed stroke case a day, had too few cases to support an acute stroke service.

Stroke services had been on the trust's high risk list over the provision of hyper acute stroke facilities.