A SCOTS stroke patient may have been left in a wheelchair and unable to speak if he had not had access to a “game-changing” treatment while on holiday in Majorca, which is still not available in his health board area.

Norrie Andrews was treated with mechanical thrombectomy, a treatment which involves inserting a catheter into a blocked artery to remove the blood clot.

The Health Secretary announced yesterday that the procedure – which is available in England – is to be made available to patients in NHS Tayside at Ninewells hospital in Dundee as the first step in a planned national roll-out by 2023.

Over the past five years in Scotland, 45 patients have been treated, while around 700 could have benefitted according to neurology experts who described access to the procedure as “dire”.

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A limited service was withdrawn in 2018, amid safety concerns but campaign groups including the Stroke Association in Scotland called for its return.

Annie Andrews and her husband Norrie who live in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, were only two days into their holiday in Majorca last year when he suffered a stroke. He was treated with a drug to break up the clot but this had no effect.

Mrs Andrews said: “The doctors said they were transferring him to the main university hospital in Majorca where they said they could perform a thrombectomy.

“It took 40 minutes and by the time he went up to intensive care, his speech was coming back and he was starting to get movement back. It was amazing.”

Mr Andrews required further surgery after successive blood clots were found but according to his wife has made a “remarkable” recovery.

“Had he not had the initial treatment, I’m not sure if he would have survived.” she said.

“The awful thing was, when I realised he was having a stroke I thought, why did we come here, Glasgow is the hub for stroke and to realise that it wasn’t, was shocking.”

Proposals are in place to introduce the service at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary from 2021 and Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital by 2023.

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Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, consultant neurologist in Edinburgh and President of the British Association of Stroke Physicians, said: “Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke is one of the most effective treatments in modern medicine.

"I am relieved this dire disservice to patients with stroke is beginning to come to an end.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Over the past 10 years, the number of people dying from stroke in Scotland has decreased by more than 35%. While this is significant progress, we can still achieve even better outcomes.

“A quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service is part of our wider commitment in this year’s Programme for Government to ensure those who experience severe stroke receive the best possible treatment and care.

“Funding will continue to be made available to other boards to develop the programme and the framework.”