Stroke patients could get to hospital quicker thanks to a new Smartphone App
The FAST Test app – the first of its kind – has been devised by Graeme Heron and Dr. William Whiteley
in the Division of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Edinburgh to provide people with a simple test to spot stroke.
To get the FAST App on your phone/device click on the App Store or Play Store image below or scan the QR code directly from your phone:
2018 FAST campaign
Public awareness of the campaign was raised through advertising in local directories and on the livery of cars & vans from November 2018 to January 2019.
2016 FAST campaign
A campaign to raise public awareness of stroke took place for two weeks on Lothian Buses in mid December 2016. Eighteen months later we were still seeing the posters on some buses.
2014 FAST campaign
The 2014 campaign released this advertisement made with the help of the Still Game team : https://www.thinkfast.org.uk/
2010 FAST campaign
Stroke is the 3rd biggest killer in Britain after heart disease and cancer. It claims the lives of 1 in 8 women and 1 in 10 men and leaves hundreds of thousands more with some form of permanent disability. Of the 13,000 strokes that will happen throughout Scotland this year, around 1000 will be people under 55, a 100 of them will be under the age of 30.
There has been a huge change in attitude to Stroke in recent years with a growing understanding that is should be treated with the same sort of urgency as a heart attack because rapid treatment can make a huge difference to the odds of surviving or being left with some form of long term disability.
This advertising campaign is being led by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) in partnership with NHS Lothian’s Stroke MCN and Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), and is designed to increase public awareness of the symptoms of a stroke and the need to seek help urgently — by dialling 999.
The campaign highlights that stroke is a brain attack. You can’t see the damage it causes but emergency treatment can make all the difference to your chances of making the best possible recovery.
- Will be launched on Thursday 23rd September 2010, by Nicola Sturgeon at Holyrood.
- 100,000 small (FAST) cards will be distributed to hospital and community pharmacies. They are being asked to target those receiving statins, warfarin, digoxin, blood pressure tablets and aspirin and the cards can then be stored in patients’ wallets.
- Banners at each of the acute sites, and waiting room TV screens will be showing the FAST message.
- Scottish Ambulance Service have arranged for their paramedic vehicles to be liveried with the FAST message, and our intersite transport vehicles have been given A3 FAST posters to display on their sides.
- Radio Forth will be running drive-time ads for 10 days (from 23rd Sept). Tune in to 97.3 to hear it.
- Companies participating in the Healthy Working Lives initiative will be targeted.
- NHS Lothian payslips (for September) will have the FAST message printed in them.
Remember – think FAST and save a life!
For more information visit https://www.chss.org.uk/stroke-information-and-support/strokes-and-tias-transient-ischaemic-attack/what-is-a-stroke/
