A TOP Southend Hospital consultant has reassured patients they will receive expert stroke care after the NHS south Essex shake-up.

Plans to modernise local health services look set to see a hyper-acute stroke unit created at Basildon Hospital to treat the most serious cases. This has sparked concern about care levels at Southend.

However Dr Paul Guyler, stroke consultant at Southend Hospital, said: “We have a vision to provide the highest-quality stroke care for patients in mid and south Essex as one joined up stroke service, rather than several individual stroke services.

"If fully implemented, the stroke clinicians feel this will further improve stroke care and treatment to the whole of our population.

“Patients suspected of having a stroke would still be taken to their nearest hospital, have an emergency stroke team specialist assessment, urgent brain and artery imaging, and receive clot busting drugs as appropriate. Stroke units would remain in all three hospitals.”

Dr Guyler said that patients may move to the specialist centre for clot-retrieval enabling all patients to access this “fast life-changing treatment”

He added: “As stroke specialists, we have all agreed we must only make changes from the current excellent services when they are in the best interests of patients.”

The Mid and South Essex Sustainability and Transformation Plans could see the majority of emergency patients treated at Basildon leading to fears Southend could be downgraded.

However, Sir David Amess, Conservative MP for Southend West, said: “My understanding is Southend and its facilities will not be downgraded. It is absolutely not the case.

“I have put those suggestions to hospital bosses who I would expect to be robust in defending the services which Southend Hospital provides.”

The proposed changes will shortly go out to public consultation