Stroke patients in Rugby have to wait more than hour for ambulance

Experts said the priority was to get the patient to a specialist stroke centre, even if that was further away than the nearest standard hospital.

After calling 999, patients had to wait on average an hour and five minutes to get to an acute stroke centre in August.

The Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group area is served by the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust’s ambulances, which cover 20 CCGs in the West Midlands , helped 1,616 patients who had an initial diagnosis of stroke.

One in ten had to wait an hour and 37 minutes to reach hospital.

Alexis Kolodziej, of the Stroke Association, said: “The faster a stroke patient can receive specialist treatment the more likely they will survive and recover.

“Evidence shows that patients get better treatment and have better outcomes when they can be taken by ambulance to a larger, comprehensive stroke centres of excellence.”