Stroke unit is one Southend can be proud of (From Echo)

Stroke unit is one Southend can be proud of

10:10pm Thursday 2nd April 2009 in

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MORE people then ever are being saved from strokes in south Essex thanks to a £1million fundraising campaign.

Medical staff and fundraisers have been getting behind the StrokeBusters campaign to revamp Southend Hospital’s stroke unit into a specialist centre.

The unit now offers a clot-busting drug, which the hospital claims has reduced deaths in stroke patients by 40 per cent.

The fundraising appeal took two years to reach its financial target, but already the unit is trailblazing its approach to treatment by treating an average of eight patients a month with the wonder drug, compared to the average six patients a year across the rest of the country.

The campaigns success comes as the Government continues to increase awareness about the dangers of strokes with its Act Fast campaign. The end of the StrokeBusters appeal was celebrated at Maxims Casino, in Western Esplanade, Westcliff, this week.

Colin George, chairman of the Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation, thanked everyone for helping the fundraising team to reach the target.

He said: “The support we have received from individuals, groups and local businesses has been tremendous, particularly in view of the current financial difficulties. We now have a stroke unit to be very proud of which will benefit us all.”

The campaign was started in April 2007, when the hospital set the ambitious goal of raising the cash in two years. Community groups and businesses responded with dozens of events that raised cash for the appeal, including sponsored walks, carnivals and parties.

The upgraded stroke unit was officially opened in June last year, but the campaign continued to raise funds to pay for equipment, such as a heart-monitoring station and computer equipment.

At the end of the two years, the appeal had raised more than £650,000 and the remaining £350,000 was paid for by the Southend University Hospital Trust.

The refurbished Benfleet and Paglesham wards at the hospital now provide a 14-bed acute unit and 26 rehabilitation beds, while a gym helps stroke patients through the rehabilitation process.

The hospital also used the money to become a centre offering the drug actilyse, a thrombolytic drug that reduces the risk of brain damage by 30 per cent if it is given to stroke patients within three hours.

On Tuesday, the hospital treated its 150th patient with the clot-busting drug since the service began 18 months ago.

Barbara Warner, senior fundraiser for the campaign, said the campaign had gone beyond improving the service at the hospital and had importantly raised awareness of the dangers posed by stroke in the community.

She said: “It’s vital and I think in our area, because we are a local campaign we have helped to raise awareness significantly.

“You can’t beat a local campaign to help spread the word and now people know they have got to ring 999 and get themselves to hospital very quickly.”