£1.4m shake-up to offer stroke patients seamless care

Under the plans, in April all stroke services will be incorporated into one purpose-built facility at Eastwood Ward in Chesterfield Royal Hospital. The acute ward will be merged with a new rehabilitation unit and patients will remain on the ward for seven days, longer than the current average stay of five days.

At present, when stroke patients are ready for rehabilitation they transfer from Chesterfield Royal Hospital to Speedwell Ward at Walton Hospital, two miles away.

Hospital chief executive Eric Morton said: “At a time when the NHS is looking to improve the quality of service it provides to its patients, while reducing costs by working smarter and more efficiently, this is a great example of what can be achieved.

“From the moment they are admitted to the Royal, stroke patients and their families will be looked after in the same facility, with the same teams and with a seamless continuity of care.

“Expert doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, pharmacists and social service colleagues will be on hand to take them through their care pathway from the first few days after a stroke, through to rehabilitation and discharge home.

“We have invested £1.4m to create a progressive facility that will make a real difference to this vital local service and I am convinced it is the right answer.”

Clinical director for medicine at the Royal Dr Pervaiz Iqbal added: “This is a really exciting time for stroke services in North Derbyshire.

“We want stroke patients to have local care and treatment and to do that we invested in its development.

“We’re making sure we have the best staff, that we offer excellent diagnostic facilities, the very latest drug treatments and the best in rehabilitation.

“To provide all this in one purpose-built facility will be the icing on the cake.”