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The announcement of an extra £77m to fund dedicated stroke services across England has been welcomed by the English Pharmacy Board.
The board, part of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, welcomed the government’s emphasis on stroke treatment in the light of the increasing number of patients receiving anticoagulation therapy.
The funding will help pharmacists target the use of Warfarin to prevent and treat the formation of harmful blood clots within the body by thinning the blood and/or dissolving clots.
Pharmacist management of anticoagulation is routinely offered in many hospital departments and increasingly being carried out by community pharmacists.
Paul Bennett, Chair of the English Pharmacy Board, said: “The government announcement to increase funding for stroke services will improve the support available for stroke survivors and their carers. Specialist pharmacist involvement and pharmacy-run anticoagulant clinics can effectively resolve many of the complex issues in anticoagulant therapy.”
Each local authority will get a ring-fenced grant worth an average of £100,000 per year, which can be used to fund a stroke care coordinator, counselling and support services or schemes to help victims get back to work.
On top of that, every Strategic Health Authority will receive £2.4m over the next three years to invest in improvements to acute stroke services.
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