A man who spent months in a Swindon hospital after collapsing from a major stroke said medical staff treated him like royalty.

Terry Hoare, 66, was taken to the Great Western Hospital in July after a stroke left him paralysed in a heap on the bedroom floor.

After two weeks in GWH he was transferred next door to the Swindon Intermediate Care Centre (SwICC), which provides rehabilitation and support to 60 patients.

Shirley, 65, his wife of 48 years, said she feared he was dying but felt utterly helpless.

"Terry had fallen out of bed at 5.30am and into the door, which jammed it shut," she said. "I was absolutely petrified.

"When the ambulance got here they were wonderful. He was taken to emergency and transferred to Jupiter ward for two weeks. He then spent four months in SwICC."

The £6m centre, which is owned and managed by the Swindon Primary Care Trust, opened in December 2002. It also has state-of-the-art rehabilitation facilities such as a gym, therapy rooms and specialist equipment.

Shirley said staff there could not have been kinder, and during the last few weeks they even moved a bed into Terry's room so she could learn how to care for him herself.

"I love all the nurses to bits," she said. "You always hear of people complaining about hospital care and no one seems to bother to tell about the good side.

"Dr Helen Newton and her team were fantastic. We both want to say a big thank you to everyone."

PCT chief executive Jan Stubbings said: " We are really pleased that Mr Hoare and his family are doing well and we thank them for taking the trouble to point out the positive experiences he had during his recovery.

"It is always heartening for the team to get such great feedback."

The couple's praise comes as the Stroke Association launches its campaign Why Are We Waiting?

It claims patients always come bottom of the list of NHS priorities, despite stroke being one of the country's biggest killers.

Director of PR at the Stroke Association, Jerry Doyle, said: "People are dying because a stroke is not always treated as the emergency it is. It's a national scandal."

SwICC is holding its first birthday open day on Saturday December 6. The centre will be open to the public between 10am and 4pm.

aemery@newswilts.co.uk

Former patients and their families are also invited.