Yorkshire trust one of worst for stroke treatment

The Stroke Improvement National Audit Programme (SINAP) collected data from health trusts and found that Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one of the worst performers.

Providing the data, which concentrates on the first 72 hours of admission, is not obligatory and only three Yorkshire trusts – out of a possible 15 – responded to the survey with Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also submitting information.

Strokes are the third biggest killer in the UK and doctors warn that rapid treatment is vital when it comes to saving lives and trying to prevent lifelong disability.

Across the 12 sets of indicators, measured between April and June this year, Bradford was rated in the bottom 25 per cent nationally for its overall score, with only 11 per cent of patients scanned within an hour of arrival compared with the national average of 33 per cent.

Only 76 per cent were scanned within 24 hours – the national average is 92 per cent – and only 51 per cent were seen by a specialist within 24 hours compared with the 79 per cent average.

Tony Rudd, stroke programme director of the Royal College of Physicians, said there were “major issues” at Bradford.

“Obviously there are very big differences in the quality of care being uncovered in Yorkshire,” he said. “I don’t want to knock Bradford but clearly there are major issues.”

He added that with so few respondents from the region and with none rated in the top 25 per cent of the country, there was “quite a lot that needs to be done in Yorkshire”.

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Participation in SINAP is not mandatory and our involvement shows we are committed to improving stroke care.

“Bradford Teaching Hospitals is currently going through an accreditation process to become a hyper-acute stroke centre which will significantly improve stroke care in the region.

“We have refurbished and enlarged our stroke unit to best meet the clinical needs of patients and ensure we offer them the potential to achieve the best clinical outcome.”

The Stroke Association recommends that hospitals have a system that can identify urgent cases within 24 hours and others within seven days.

It also recommends that brain scans are available within 24 hours.

Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust was the strongest of the Yorkshire respondents, with all patients scanned within 24 hours and 95 per cent seeing a specialist within the same time frame, where the national average is 79 per cent.

In Sheffield the trust boasts a hyper-acute stroke unit, however it still fell below the overall national average across the 12 indicators, placed in the third quartile.

However the report also showed that specialists discuss diagnosis and prognosis with the patients and their family more than the national average and the number of patients being thrombolysed (receiving clot busting drugs) is increasing.

Amanda Jones, Stroke Nurse Consultant at Sheffield, said: “I am delighted our stroke service has been recognised as being above the national average in many areas.

“This is testament to the success of our move last August which brought all stroke services under one roof to create a specialist centre at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.”

The ambulance service in Sheffield now automatically takes patients suspected of suffering a stroke to the new centre at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Ms Jones added: “Although we have performed extremely well in many aspects of patient care, there are still some areas which could benefit from further work, and we have plans in place to focus our attention on where we are performing less well.

“This will ensure a high quality stroke service in all aspects of care for patients and carers in the future.”