Stroke

Number of patients consulting

The graph below shows the estimated number of patients in Scotland (per 1,000 registered with a practice) who consulted either a GP or practice-employed nurse for stroke (including Transient ischaemic attacks or TIAs) at least once in the year ending 31 March 2009, by gender and age group. The chart shows that the number of patients consulting for stroke/TIA increased with age and that in most age groups more males than females (relative to numbers registered) consulted their practice for this condition. In absolute terms, in the oldest age groups (65-74 and 75+) more females consulted for this condition than males, which is due to the longer life expectancy of females and hence the predominance of females within this age group.

All estimates are standardised by deprivation to account for any differences between the PTI sample population and the Scottish practice population in levels of deprivation. These figures and comparable figures for 2003/04 to 2007/08 are provided in tabular format in an Excel document  (74KB), which also contains 95% confidence intervals for all estimates. This table shows a total estimate of around 43,000 patients seen in the most recent year for stroke, with a 95% confidence interval between 34,500 and 51,400 patients. This fairly wide confidence interval reflects the precision of such an estimate, resulting from substantial variation between practices and a relatively small number of cases in the sample.

Stroke¹ - estimated number of patients in Scotland consulting a GP or practice nurse at least once in the financial year 2008/09 ^{2, 3} per 1,000 patients registered
by gender and age group

¹ Based on ISD's Read Code Grouping (RCG) 'Stroke' and 'Transient cerebral ischaemic attacks  & related syndromes'.
² Based on 58 PTI practices that submitted complete GP and practice nurse data for the year ending 31 March 2009. Rates are standardised by deprivation.
³ Population source: Community Health Index (CHI) record, as at 30 September 2008.

Note: Due to slightly updated rules determining what records describe a face-to-face contact and what records should be considered as administration, which were also applied retrospectively, figures shown here are not strictly comparable to these provided prior to 30 March 2010. See the Note of Revisions for further information.

Source: Practice Team Information  (PTI), ISD Scotland (last updated 30 March 2010)

Number of consultations

The chart below shows the estimated numbers of consultations in Scotland for stroke (including Transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs)) for the six financial years 2003/04 to 2008/09, by staff discipline. Figures are standardised by age, sex and deprivation to account for any differences in these characteristics between the PTI sample population and the Scottish practice population. These figures are provided in tabular format in an Excel document  (21KB), which includes 95% confidence intervals for all estimates.
The chart shows that the estimated numbers of contacts with a GP for Stroke/TIA, after a steep decline over the first few years, have become fairly stable. The numbers of practice nurse contacts increased over the first few years but has become more stable over the following years. In the most recent years the numbers of GP contacts were very similar to the numbers for practice nurses. These changes may be reflective in part of improved quality of coding for stroke around the time that the new GP contract was introduced in April 2004.  Based on data for 2003/04 to 2005/06, it appears that district nurses also have a very significant role to play in providing care for stroke/TIA patients.

Stroke¹ - estimated number of consultations with a GP or practice-employed nurse in Scotland in the financial years 2003/04 to 2008/09 ^{2, 3}
by staff discipline

* Health visitor and district nurse data are not available from the financial year 2006/07 onwards.
¹ Based on ISD's Read Code Grouping (RCG) 'Stroke' and 'Transient cerebral ischaemic attacks & related syndromes'.
² Based on 59, 53, 51, 49, 48 and 58 PTI practices that submitted complete data for the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2009, respectively. Figures are standardised by age, gender and deprivation.
³ Population source: Community Health Index (CHI) record, as at 30 September 2003 to 2008.

Note: Due to slightly updated rules determining what records describe a face-to-face contact and what records should be considered as administration, which were also applied retrospectively, figures shown here are not strictly comparable to these provided prior to 30 March 2010. See the Note of Revisions for further information.

Source: Practice Team Information  (PTI), ISD Scotland (30 March 2010)