Following demand from clinical practice, new guidelines on pre-hospital stroke care targeting ambulance and A&E staff across the country have been developed in an attempt to save thousands of lives a year.
The guidelines, which initially began as a regional project, are currently being disseminated nationally in an attempt to reduce death and disability from strokes. The Rapid Emergency Stroke Pathways: OrgaNised Systems and Education (RESPONSE) project, has been key in raising awareness of the need for a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to stroke care.
Professor Caroline Watkins, chair of the North-West Stroke Task Force and Professor of Stroke and Older People’s Care at UCLan, led the stroke research programme and said of the new guidelines: “I welcome the recent report by the Commons public accounts committee which criticised Government for lack of resources devoted to stroke care. In order to achieve the ultimate goal of RESPONSE, we must ensure that knowledge and skills are in place in order to speed up the process of occurrence to treatment. These guidelines have been developed in an attempt to act fast to reduce disability and death in the event of a stroke, and to deliver the right care from the moment of the event.
“We must ensure that knowledge is being shared and communicated to a wider audience and that sustainable training and specialist services for ambulance personnel is available. Time lost is brain lost.”
UCLan currently boasts the largest nonmedically led stroke research team within the UK and is committed to drawing on the close links it has with the NHS, consumer organisations and industry.
The implementation of these guidelines and standards, in conjunction with the Stroke Association’s Act Fast campaign, has the potential to significantly reduce disability and death from strokes by ensuring that the right care is delivered from the onset of symptoms.
