Stroke symptoms campaign launched
Updated on 05 December 2008
A campaign to help people recognise the symptoms of stroke will be launched in the new year, the Department of Health has announced.
The three-year £12 million advertising and marketing campaign will begin in February. Adverts, films, posters and leaflets will teach the public about Fast - Face Arm Speech Time to call 999 - to highlight the early symptoms of stroke and the importance of prompt treatment.
The test involves looking for facial weakness, such as whether the person can smile or their mouth or an eye has drooped, checking whether the person can raise both arms and looking for difficulties in speaking or understanding speech.
Stroke, which is a "bleed" or clot in the brain, is the third leading cause of death in the UK and the single largest cause of adult disability in England. An estimated 150,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year and more than 67,000 die due to stroke each year in the UK.
Symptoms include numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of the body (such as a drooping arm, leg or lower eyelid, or a dribbling mouth), slurred speech or difficulty finding words or understanding what is being said.
Other symptoms are blurred vision or loss of sight, confusion or unsteadiness or a severe headache.
The campaign launch comes exactly a year on from the publication of the Government's £100 million National Stroke Strategy which aims to cut the number of people who die or suffer disability following a stroke.
Health Minister Ann Keen said: "As a former nurse, I know the NHS is rising to the challenges set out one year ago in the National Stroke Strategy by driving forward significant improvements in both emergency stroke services and long term rehabilitative care for people who have had a stroke.
Nigel Edwards, policy director at the NHS Confederation, which represents 95% of NHS organisations, said: "The stroke strategy is an important piece of work and it is vital that people are encouraged to be able to spot the signs of strokes themselves so care can be provided as soon as possible.
"One of the implications of stroke strategy is that getting care to people as soon as possible also means making sure they are then taken to the best place, not necessarily the nearest. This may well require the public to shift its expectations slightly about how they receive care in the NHS."
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