An awareness campaign has resulted in St John being called to more people suspected to be having a stroke for the second year.
The three-month FAST campaign, funded by the Ministry of Health and developed by the Health Promotion Agency and the Stroke Foundation, aimed to teach people to recognise the symptoms of a stroke.
During this year's campaign the number of suspected strokes recorded by St John rose from 160 to 196 per week - an increase of 22 per cent. The number of suspected strokes recorded peaked at 231 in one week.
The average number of ambulance call-outs to confirmed strokes each week rose from 45 before the campaign to 52 in July.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said the first campaign, run last year, increased calls for suspected strokes by about 40 each week.