Act F.A.S.T. Campaign Additional Toolkit

NHS England, in association with the Stroke Association, has relaunched the Act F.A.S.T. stroke campaign, which highlights that a stroke is a medical emergency and urges the public to call 999 immediately if they notice any single one of the signs of a stroke in themselves or others.

The primary audience for the campaign is people aged 50+, as this age group are more likely to experience a stroke. The campaign is also relevant to a wider all adult audience of ‘stroke savers’ who may witness somebody showing one of the stroke signs, be it a loved one or a friend.

The aim of the campaign is to reduce the amount of time between someone having a stroke and arriving at hospital (and therefore receiving appropriate care including thrombolysis or thrombectomy, if appropriate) by: increasing knowledge of the signs of a stroke and of a stroke as a medical emergency and increasing the intention to act quickly on the signs of a stroke by calling 999.

The campaign provides a simple test to help people identify the most common signs of a stroke:

Think and Act F.A.S.T. if you see any single one of these signs of a stroke:
Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
Arms – can they raise both arms and keep them there?
Speech – is their speech slurred?
Time – even if you’re not sure, call 999.

When Stroke Strikes Act F.A.S.T. Call 999

The campaign is also keen to promote alternative ways of contacting 999 for people who are BSL users, deaf, have hearing loss or a speech impairment via the 999BSL video call service, text relay or emergencysms. All formats include this information.

The campaign running in England includes TV, video on demand, radio, social media, partnerships and multi-cultural activity. To ensure the campaign messaging reaches disabled audiences who may be excluded from communications a range of alternative formats of campaign assets have been produced and engagement is also taking place with disability organisations.