A stroke patient was saved from serious life-changing damage thanks to the extra minutes bought by a helicopter whisking him to St George’s Hospital.

The major trauma centre, in Tooting, got its first stroke patient by air last month.

The William Harvey Hospital, Kent, received a call just before 11.30am of a man suffering a stroke. On arrival he failed to respond to treatment and needed an urgent procedure, carried out by St George’s specialists, to remove the blood clot from the vessel.

Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance transported him all the way from Kent to St George’s, where he arrived at 12.53am, and within 40 minutes his clot was out.

Dr Jeremy Madigan, consultant diagnostic and interventional neuroradiologist at St George’s Hospital, said: "There’s a quote that you lose millions of neurons every minute you have an artery blocked, you want to have it done, the whole treatment, within four to six hours.

"If he hadn’t been able to get to us it is likely his clot wouldn’t have dissolved, his brain would have remained deprived of blood flow and he probably would have had a large stroke. He would have had to have half his skull taken off to relieve pressure and probably left with a severe disability."

Wandsworth Times:

Thanks to the air ambulance and quick-thinking doctors the man was soon walking independently and discharged from St George’s. He has some difficulty getting some words out but can walk and use his right arm.

The hospital trust described transporting a patient from one hospital to another as an "unusual request". But saving time was crucial and the air ambulance transfer took just 30 minutes to cover 60 miles, a journey that would have taken more than an hour by road.

Dr David Hargroves, consultant physician and clinical lead for stroke medicine, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust added: "We have known for the last 20 years that clot busting drugs can make a significant impact upon a patient’s chance of recovery, if given early enough.

"This new treatment is currently only performed in a few centres in the country - St Georges Hospital in London being one. A patient may lose two million neurones a minute when suffering an ischaemic stroke."