Stroke Unit continues to develop new services

When Professor Roger Boyle, the NHS National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke made a visit to the region to officially open a state-of-the-art 20-bed integrated stroke unit at one of the region’s top performing hospitals in November 2008, it marked the completion of a £750,000 development at South Tyneside District Hospital.

Every year, around 400 people in South Tyneside suffer a stroke and a further 200 experience the symptoms of a mini-stroke, medically known as a Transient Ischaemic Attack.

South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust’s Stroke Unit provides enhanced facilities for all in-patient stroke services. It has dramatically improved the speed and quality of services for stroke and high-risk TIA patients across the region, bringing the latest technology and up-to-date facilities together on one specialist ward.

The team behind the unit have continued to develop stroke services since its launch, as Consultant Physician for Stroke Services at South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Jon Scott, explains: “When we launched our new unit we were able to take major steps to improve the quality of services for stroke patients. Over the last eighteen months, we have been looking at ways to further improve our service with a continued focus on rapid diagnosis and treatment and it’s certainly been a busy time.

“Securing a £60k grant from the North of England Cardiovascular Network, we have just purchased new equipment for the unit, as part of a pilot telemedicine scheme that will allow us to remotely assess patients with stroke symptoms.

“For instance, if a patient is admitted into A&E out-of-hours, this piece of kit can be used by the on-call stroke consultant to connect from home and assess the patient’s condition via a video link, to work with our emergency care colleagues to advise immediately on the best treatment without having to wait for the specialist to travel in to hospital.

“We have also been working with our colleagues in Gateshead and Sunderland to develop a sub-regional on-call rota which we hope to be in place within the next 12 months. By pooling specialist resources from the three hospital sites, we are expecting to improve the level of immediate access to stroke consultants for patients, particularly at night and at weekends. Introducing the telemedicine equipment is seen as a key stepping stone to providing this enhanced level of service.

“The Trust is also pleased to report the interim results of a one-year pilot weekend therapy rehabilitation service. Following a £100k grant from the NECVN, we began a programme to increase therapy provision. Previously, there was no access to specialist rehabilitation therapy at weekends so this grant has been used to fund a physiotherapist and technical instructor to increase the number of sessions we can offer.

“The results so far have been hugely encouraging. Since August 09, 93% of patients are now assessed by a physiotherapist within 72 hours of admission and patient satisfaction levels have also increased. Weekend access to this type of therapy has lead to prompt discharges from hospital and initiation of therapy and guidance for the rest of the team, allowing patients to be mobilised sooner.

“This latest activity continues our commitment to the NHS National Stroke Strategy, helping us to achieve excellence in the provision of stroke care. Our team has achieved a great deal but there is still more work to do to provide our patients with the best possible care.”