Wales ranks 21st out of 26 high-income countries for stroke outcomes, lagging significantly behind the rest of the UK, a surgeon-turned-Senedd member has warned.

Altaf Hussain blamed the poor performance on the Welsh Government’s failure to run a national “Act FAST” awareness-raising campaign in recent years.

The Conservative, who chairs the Senedd’s cross-party group on stroke, criticised a “lack of will” from Public Health Wales to implement campaigns which have proved successful over the border.

Leading a short debate in the Senedd on 15 October, he pointed to “huge clinical support and clinical need for a renewed Welsh awareness campaign”.

One of the UK’s leading stroke consultants told Dr Hussain he would “absolutely support” a renewed focus in Wales, stating “public awareness is an absolute must”.