STROKE survivors have hailed a decision by NHS bosses to introduce a "game-changing" revolutionary treatment.

Mechanical thrombectomies – which involve inserting a 3ft-long tube into an artery and feeding a wire-mesh stent through it to the brain – will be available to more patients in the North-East in the coming years as part of NHS plans to launch the procedure at all 24 neuroscience centres across England.

Both James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough and at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, have neuroscience units.

To date, the specialist treatment has only been available at a limited number of hospitals across the country and a spokeswoman for the Newcastle hospital said it had yet to be announced which centres would offer the treatment.

While many people with a stroke caused by a clot currently get drugs to help dissolve the blockage, this does not always work completely.

Mechanical thrombectomy delivered alongside existing clot busting drugs more than doubles the numbers of stroke patients who remain independent.

It is a time critical, highly skilled operation, and stroke services need to be set up to be able to deliver the treatment.

Chelsea Bewick, from Bishop Auckland, who suffered a stoke while she was pregnant two years ago, said the treatment would significantly improve the chances of recovery for individuals who suffer from a severe form of stroke where blood vessels in the brain become blocked.

“I think it is a really good procedure that they can offer many people now, “ she said. “A few of my friends have lost family members and this procedure could have possibly saved them.

“If I had the option in the beginning then I might have taken it but I don’t think I will be looking to have it done now. I am getting some use out of my arm again.

“It is slowly progressing and I think I am going to battle on because of my youthfulness I have many years for it to recover, but I think it will make a difference to others.”

The move follows research by Dr Peter McMeekin, from Northumbria University, Newcastle that showed thousands of stroke patients would benefit from the procedure.

Dr McMeekin said: "Delivering a universal mechanical thrombectomy service for stroke patients will prove a challenge for the NHS, particularly at a time when resources are already stretched.

"It will involve investment in new skills and technologies as well as changes to acute care pathways.

"A particular challenge will be how to ensure that people living in more remote communities can access the same services as those living within major population centres."