HEART attack victims have more chance of surviving in Hampshire than in other parts of the UK, new figures have revealed.

Survival rates for patients resuscitated by paramedics from the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) are higher than the national average, putting the trust in the top four of best performers.

But the trust came top of the league when it came to giving suspected stroke patients the right care package after a face-to-face assessment, achieving a 100 per cent strike rate. The figures show that the survival rates for patients resuscitated by Hampshire ambulance staff after an unwitnessed cardiac arrest was 6.8 per cent, compared to the national average of six per cent.

This relates to 147 patients during April, ten of whom left hospital alive – putting SCAS fourth out of the 12 ambulance trusts in the country.

But it was the worst performing trust when it came to providing an appropriate care bundle for the 40 heart attack patients, with only 55.09 per cent getting the treatment, compared to the national average of 70.2 per cent.

They also slipped to eighth when it came to getting heart attack patients eligible for primary angioplasty treatment – an operation to unblock arteries carrying blood to the heart – within 150 minutes, with just 88 per cent of the 92 patients getting the care within the time restriction, compared to the national average of 90.8 per cent.

Only 62.3 per cent of the 175 suspected stroke patients who received a face-to-face assessment were moved to a hyperacute stroke centre within an hour, compared to the national average of 66.2 per cent.

The Department of Health said the data would be used as a tool to identify areas in need of improvement.