A new campaign is aiming to challenge a reported lack of stroke awareness in Scotland to help improve outcomes and save lives.
Charity Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service have launched a revived ‘F.A.S.T.’ campaign to highlight awareness of stroke signs and symptoms and encourage fast action when contacting emergency services.
F.A.S.T. has long been used to demonstrate the early warning signs of stroke, representing face, arm, speech and time – to call emergency services.
YouGov polling commissioned by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland revealed that 39 per cent of adults in Scotland were not familiar with F.A.S.T. This number rises to 53 per cent for younger adults (age 18-24).
With almost 11,000 people in Scotland experiencing a stroke each year, and an estimated 136,000 people in Scotland living with the effects of stroke, raising public awareness of stroke signs and the need to take immediate emergency action when someone is experiencing
Jane-Claire Judson, CEO of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “Stroke affects thousands of Scots of all ages each year. By launching our F.A.S.T. campaign, we want to empower the Scottish public to act quickly and confidently if they think they or someone around them is experiencing stroke.
“The quicker the signs and symptoms are recognised, the quicker the phone call is made, the more likely we can save people from significant life changing disabilities and get them the help they desperately need. Acting F.A.S.T. could save your life or the life of someone you love.”
Michael Dickson, chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “When we receive a 999 call for someone suffering from a stroke, everyone within the Scottish Ambulance Service will act F.A.S.T. From our call handlers to our front-line crew, we work together to reduce time spent on scene to ensure the patient is transported to hospital as soon as possible.
“We need your help to identify stroke by doing the F.A.S.T. test and by calling 999 as quickly as possible. Prior to the ambulance crew arrival, you can help them by ensuring they can gain access to the patient quickly by having them ready to leave and securing pets within another room. Please tell the attending crew any information about what happened and the patient’s history and medication, this helps us get to the hospital and potential treatments quicker.”
The campaign includes a TV advert, outdoor advertising and a digital and social media campaign.
LIVED EXPERIENCE – Donna Cullinane, 59, Ardrossan
Donna Cullinane is 59 and lives in Ardrossan with her partner, Tam. She’s a mother to two grown-up children, Scott, 25, and 21-year-old Lauren. When Donna experienced the first of two strokes, her partner’s awareness of F.A.S.T. meant he quickly acted to get her medical help and she was assessed for the appropriate treatment ultimately leading to an improved outcome. Donna is a member of the Kilmarnock Young Stroke Survivors Group, a Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland peer support group.
A chance encounter with the police became a lifesaving one for Donna Cullinane.
The mother-of-two had stopped to talk to two officers about a bogus caller at her mum’s house when she suddenly fell.
They helped her home where her partner Tam was waiting. Tam took one look at Donna’s face and realised she was having a stroke.
He did the F.A.S.T. diagnosis – face, arm, speech, time – and then the police officer swung into action, radioing for an ambulance that rushed Donna to hospital in minutes.
Donna, said: “I know things could have been so much worse. I was treated quickly and recovered well because Tam recognised the F.A.S.T. signs of stroke. A campaign to raise public awareness of these signs can only be a good thing that helps more people like me.”
Donna was 46 when she had the first of two strokes. There was no warning.
She said: “I felt a bit odd as I walked up to the police car that day, then I fell to the ground.
“They got me up and I was speaking, but I knew my words were slurred. The police officers took me home and helped me into the house.
“Tam took one look at me and realised I’d had a stroke because my entire left side was weak. He asked me to lift my arm and I couldn’t. I couldn’t walk properly or speak clearly.
“I was taken to Crosshouse Hospital, but at the time Crosshouse didn’t have the 24-hour stroke response it does now. Staff had a phone consultation with the consultant who said I needed to be thrombolysed, so I was transferred to what was then the Southern General in Glasgow.
“Within an hour of the thrombolysis, I was able to move my arm and leg again, I was talking fine. It was incredible.”
Donna had returned to work after the first stroke, but the second left her with loss of peripheral vision in both eyes, and she has since retired because of other medical issues. She still suffers from fatigue that is a common effect of stroke.
She added: “One real positive has been joining the Kilmarnock Young Stroke Survivors Group. I’d say to any stroke survivor to get involved with a Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland peer support group because only someone who has had a stroke can understand exactly what you’re going through. And it’s wonderful to share experiences and feel that understanding.”
