HE may have suffered a stroke just seven weeks ago but Rodney Partington is already a picture of health.

The 65-year-old was lucky enough to be suitable for treatment with clot-busting drugs when he was admitted to Colchester Hospital.

Now more staff are being trained to offer the treatment 24 hours a day from September.

Mr Partington, who has made a full recovery, said: “I got up in the morning and I felt a bit grim. I started feeling funny, so my wife called an ambulance.

“When we got to hospital, I had examinations and then they did this thrombolysis because it was within three hours of my stroke.

“It was quite remarkable how quickly I recovered.

“There’s no pain and I was out of hospital in six days.”

Now Mr Partington, of Scotland Street, Stoke-by-Nayland, is keen to continue travelling around the country in his motor home and enjoying his retirement.

He said: “The stroke could have been very debilitating because I lost the ability to speak and the use of my left arm, but thanks to the treatment they came back.

“I know not everyone is suitable for the treatment, but if they could offer it 24 hours a day, it could save a lot more people.

“Some people’s lives are destroyed by having a stroke and this treatment could stop that happening.”

The treatment breaks up the blood clots which cause a stroke and can help some patients to recover faster and far more effectively.

Patients at the hospital’s stroke unit have been assessed for treatment using thrombolysis since December 2008, but it has not been available at all hours.

Dr Rajesh Saksena, a consultant physician in stroke medicine, said the treatment was not suitable for all patients, but they were keen to offer it 24 hours a day.

He said: “We are in the process of recruiting and training staff.

“Thrombolysis is only suitable for some patients usually those who have only had a minor or moderate stroke.

“Each patient will be individually assessed and given a CT scan before we decide whether they are suitable.

“If it is within three hours of the stroke, they will be offered thrombolysis, some people respond very quickly to the treatment like Mr Partington did, but it can take up to three months to feel totally well.”

Colchester General Hospital is one of only three hospitals in the east of England to offer the thrombolysis treatment, along with Southend Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.