JUST a year ago the county’s stroke services were on borrowed time.

Today (Thurs) they were recognised for how far they have come.

Wye Valley NHS Trust (WVT) Board heard that progress was still tempered by poor performance against patient targets for transient ischemic attack or “mini strokes”.

The service has also had hard time recruiting, needing two new consultants and specialist nursing staff. 

But the “care pathway” plan so much a part of securing a future for the service is in place as a multi-agency approach to treatment from assessment to discharge.

Stroke services are now all co-located on Wye ward at Hereford County Hospital.

Service unit manager Lynne Kedward told the board she was “confident” of a strong stroke service if recruitment challenges could be met.

The board, in turn, recognised the extent of work done so far on a “big agenda”.

Stroke patients make up a significant specialist workload for the trust.

Chief executive Richard Beeken told the board he had been “overwhelmed” by the number of stroke patients in Herefordshire compared to other trusts he had worked with.

In April last year, 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 trust board had been told that the trust could not continue to provide a service that was "under-resourced" and recognised as "sub-optimal."

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

By October, the trust and Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)  announced a £1.1 million investment in stroke services.

The sum had been secured through the CCG.

A Stroke Programme Board was set up to review current resources and agree plans to improve and put a “stroke pathway” care plan in place.

This plan offered seven-day services developed to a phased programme based on national models of best practice and recommendations made by the British Association of Stroke Physicians.