The final report of the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), shows that care for patients with stroke is still improving 12 years after the start of the audit.
88% of patients spent at least some time on a stroke unit which is good progress from 74% in 2008. Patients on stroke units have better outcomes than those admitted to and treated on general wards. However, it also highlights the fact that there are still too many patients spending the majority of their time on a general assessment unit. 57% of patients go first to general assessment units where stroke specialist care is not carried out quickly enough and therefore puts patients at risk of later complications. Also, only 36% are admitted directly to a stroke unit, with 38% reaching the stroke unit within four hours. 56% of patients for whom the time of first experiencing symptoms of stroke is known were admitted within three hours, and 64% within four hours. This figure is slightly worse than the 2008 figures.
