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Press Releases 2009 Press Releases 2009 Amongst the country’s top performing hospital trusts for stroke care
Press Releases 2009 Press Releases 2009 Amongst the country’s top performing hospital trusts for stroke care
| Amongst the country’s top performing hospital trusts for stroke care |
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| Written by Communications Team |
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In a recent report by the Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party for the Royal College of Physicians, Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust has been rated amongst the top 25% of trusts in the country for stroke care.
Dr Bhaskar Mandal, Consultant in Elderly Care at Ashford and St. Peter’s said: “Since December 2007 we have totally restructured our stroke service and now have all the necessary elements to provide patients with first class care from admission following an acute stroke, through to specialist stroke rehabilitation.”
In December 2007 the Trust opened a dedicated acute stroke and brain injury unit at St Peter’s hospital, followed by the introduction of thrombolysis treatment for stroke patients the following year. Thrombolysis is an innovative treatment which involves using a clot busting drug for certain stroke patients which effectively disperses the clot, and needs to be given within 3 hours from the onset of symptoms.
The Trust also runs a clinic for patients who have suffered from, or who are believed to have had what is known as a mini stroke, called a transchaemic attack (TIA). These clinics run daily at Ashford Hospital and mean that patients who have suffered a mini stroke are able to receive the right preventative treatment to help reduce the risks of going on to have a more serious acute stroke.
Dr Mandel continues: “Since we restructured our services we have noticed that incidents of stroke in this area have fallen by almost 25%, largely due to the preventative work we are now able to carry out in our TIA clinics. Our TIA service is one of the best in the South East Coast, and, according to a recent PCT audit, 81% of patients were seen and treated within 24 hours of referral.
Both our acute unit at St Peter’s and our dedicated rehabilitation ward at Ashford Hospital are staffed by highly trained multi-disciplinary teams – that is a range of staff including doctors, nurses, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dieticians and others. All these changes have improved the way we are able to care for our stroke patients, giving them the right specialist care when they need it. It is very gratifying, after all the hard work we have put in, to see this reflected in the results of the recent stroke audit.”
John Ayres, Chair of the Ashford Hospital Stroke Klub, added: “I’ve been really impressed with the improvements in patient care over the last few years, and with the different strategies that staff use to help patients improve their quality of life following a stroke. The Trust now has a lot of new equipment and the staff working on the stroke wards really are wonderful.”
Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in adults in the country. The National Sentinel Audit of Stroke has been taking place every 2 years since 1998, and is an opportunity for hospitals to measure the care they provide against the national stroke guidelines and to see how they compare with others.
The final word from Dr Mandal: “Remember – if you suspect someone has had a stroke, don’t delay. Think of the current FAST campaign; Facial weakness - can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped? Arm weakness - can the person raise both arms? Speech problems - can the person speak clearly and understand what you say? Time to call 999.”
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Ashford Hospital, London Road, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 3AA
Switchboard: 01784 884488
St. Peter’s Hospital, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0PZ
Switchboard: 01932 872000
Switchboard: 01932 872000
