A MEDICAL director who led stroke care in Worcestershire has stepped down after 13 years.

Dr Charles Ashton will remain as medical director at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust until his replacement is found next year.

Dr Ashton was a controversial figure to some, presiding over what some saw as Worcestershire’s failing stroke services although he had in the summer led dramatic improvements which saw more than 80 per cent of patients who had been treated for a stroke receiving care in a stroke bed in May.

The national target is that at least 80 per cent of stroke patients should spend 90 per cent of their time on a stroke unit but the figure was just 19 per cent in Worcestershire hospitals, including Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester, last April.

It has historically been one of the poorest performing services in Worcestershire.

Patients enjoy a better chance of survival and of avoiding permanent disability if they are treated in a dedicated stroke unit.

After the improvement stroke care slumped to 60 per cent in September, blamed on delays in opening an eight-bed stroke rehabilitation unit at Timberdine nursing and rehabilitation unit in Worcester.

Dr Ashton said: “I have decided to relinquish my role.

“The trust is facing unprecedented challenges and the role of medical director continues to enlarge.

“I have been faced with the dilemma of further reducing my clinical commitments or reducing my management role. I am primarily a doctor so, in the end, the choice was easy.

“I have therefore decided to continue my clinical role and, on the management side, to concentrate on leading revalidation (ensuring doctors are raising and maintaining their professional standards) as responsible officer and providing strategic leadership around the development of integrated services, especially for the elderly.”