A NEW initiative aims to increase the survival rate of stroke victims.

Researchers at Newcastle University have been awarded a £90,000 grant by the Stroke Association to look at ways of identifying victims more quickly, enabling them to get treatment sooner.

Health service workers including GPs, ambulance workers and accident and emergency staff will be given training in how to spot the symptoms of a stroke.

Researcher, Professor Gary Ford, a consultant stroke physician at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, said: "There have been improvements in early care for stroke victims and a lot of research around treatments, but these treatments need to be in place quite quickly."

He said early identification meant patients could be taken into a specialist stroke department instead of accident and emergency.

Research had shown that going straight into a stroke unit reduced the mortality and disability rate by about ten per cent.

Prof Ford said work had already been undertaken with paramedics and had showed positive results.

He said: "There are some treatments already which are important for patients to get as soon as possible and there are new treatments on the way.

"If it is not a stroke, the patient might need different types of treatment."

He said techniques for identifying strokes could eventually be taught to the general public, although this could be some time in the future.