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Standard Five - Stroke

  • Last modified date:
    15 February 2008

The aim of this standard is to reduce the incidence of stroke in the population and ensure that those who have had a stroke have prompt access to integrated stroke care services.

Standard

The NHS will take action to prevent strokes, working in partnership with other agencies where appropriate.

People who are thought to have had a stroke have access to diagnostic services, are treated appropriately by a specialist stroke service, and subsequently, with their carers, participate in a multidiciplinary programme of secondary prevention and rehabilitation.

Progress

Outcomes for stroke patients are better when they are cared for by specialist stroke teams within designated stroke units. Lengths of stay are also, on average, shorter. Since the publication of the National Service Framework many more specialist stroke services have been set up and more are planned. Three-quarters of hospitals who care for people who have had a stroke have a specialist stroke unit.

There have been significant increases in the number of stroke physicians, the proportion of patients being treated in specialist stroke units and the number of patients returning home following hospital treatment. There have been important improvements in care, for example 83% of patients are receiving brain scans to improve diagnosis, which is more than ever before.

The NHS Modernisation Agency's 'clinical governance development programme' - which seeks to engage frontline staff in radical reassessments of care delivery - has already had an impact on stroke services.

Next Steps

The organisation of stroke care across the country remains variable and there is still much to do to ensure that the National Service Framework standard is met. In particular significant work will need to be undertaken since, despite the very significant increase in their number, only 36% of patients who have had a stroke are spending time in a specialist stroke unit.

There is a range of different initiatives in progress that will help promote better stroke care. For example, the Mordernisation Agency Pursuing Perfection project (which aims for a new gold standard in health and socail care delivery) has two sites working on stroke services; and the Sentinel Stroke Audit, which is very important in promoting better care.

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