NEW figures suggested more than 30 lives may have been saved through better stroke care in East Lancashire last year, although bosses have admitted that 'huge improvements' are still needed.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust reported 132 deaths within its stroke services in 2014, which was four below the expected mortality of 136. In 2013 there were 34 'excess' deaths.

The performance of the Royal Blackburn Hospital, which takes stroke patients from across Pennine Lancashire, has been a major concern in recent years, and despite the improving death rate, a range of other indicators suggest there are still significant problems.

The latest Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme, published by the Royal College of Physicians and covering the three months to September, ranked the Royal Blackburn as one of the worst performers in the region, with particular concerns around the number of patients receiving timely specialist assessments, clot-busting thrombolysis injections, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy.

Along with Blackpool Victoria and Royal Lancaster Infirmary, the Royal Blackburn was given a combined score of 'E', the lowest grade out of five, while ten other hospitals performed better.

The trust was also among the worst performers nationally for the proportion of patients admitted to the stroke unit within four hours, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Dr Ian Stanley, medical director of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Blackburn, said: "There needs to be a huge improvement, we absolutely acknowledge that.

"But we must realise that we're no longer an outlier on mortality, and overall patient outcomes are getting better."

He said the recruitment of a specialist stroke nurse had made a difference, and another is set to be drafted in, along with additions to the speech and language team.

The trust is also looking to bolster the senior medical team, while other are measures are in the pipeline, he added.

With a regional review of stroke care in Lancashire and Cumbria still ongoing, further improvements could be crucial to keeping the stroke in Blackburn.

Centralising services in London, resulting in the closure of many units, has resulted in better outcomes, and a similar move has now been agreed in Manchester.

But Dr Stanley said: "Given the numbers of patients and the size of our population, and the presence of risk factors such as the prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure, there will always be a need for high quality stroke care in East Lancashire. (But) if in future there are developments that show improved outcomes by moving to centralised units then we'd do what's best for patients."