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Surgeons are calling for an urgent review of vascular services following a report which says stroke patients are missing out on life-saving operations.

Under National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines patients that suffer a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), or mini-stroke, should receive carotid endarterectomy surgery at the latest within two weeks. The government's national stroke strategy says the ideal time is within 48 hours.

But a combination of a lack of public awareness and poor professional understanding of treatment and referral options has led to patients waiting weeks or even months for treatment that may be too late, says the report. The average wait from symptom to surgery is 28 days; and from referral to surgery 19 days.

Each year 120,000 people suffer a stroke and 20-30 per cent die within a month. Nearly 1m people live with the effects of a stroke. It is estimated to cost the economy £7bn a year.

The findings come from vascular surgical services and clinical endarterectomy (round two) audit carried out by the Royal College of Physicians and the Vascular Society. It was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership.

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