Emergency call operators fail to recognise stroke victims

Published on Wednesday 20 May 2009 22:04

THE current system for assessing 999 calls misses more than half of people suffering a stroke, researchers warned today.

The questions asked by telephone operators mean that some emergencies are not always prioritised, they said.

A previous study by the same team found the system, widely used in Europe and North America, also fails to accurately predict people having a heart attack.

The latest study was carried out on patients arriving at the North Hampshire Hospital A&E department by ambulance.

The assessment made during their 999 call was compared with the diagnosis eventually made by doctors at the hospital.

The study examined 4,810 patients admitted to the A&E department, of whom 126 were subsequently diagnosed as having had a stroke.

Researchers analysing the data found it had only correctly identified 60 people with a "chief complaint" of stroke.

The research was published in the Emergency Medicine Journal.

Around half of the 110,000 people suffering a stroke each year in the UK attend emergency services following an ambulance call.