Acute stroke

Accelerating Stroke Improvement Measures
ASI 2: Direct admission to a stroke unit
Proportion of patients admitted directly to an acute stroke unit within four hours of hospital arrival.

ASI 3: Acute stroke care
Proportion of patients spending 90% of their time on an acute stroke unit

Supporting resources

• Consensus statements on intra-arterial interventions in acute stroke
  In October 2011, NHS Improvement - Stroke hosted a meeting of representatives of a range of professional bodies involved in the delivery of the various intra-arterial interventions in acute stroke, including intra-arterial thrombolysis and also clot-retrieval and disruption devices.
  The group considered the current evidence and practice base and reached consensus on urging caution on the widespread adoption of any of the interventions at the present time. The group acknowledged that the priority is to ensure that people with acute stroke are recruited into well-designed studies at experienced centres, and produced a consensus statements document.
  View the intra-arterial interventions consensus statements.
• Ambulance Quality Indicators: opportunities for accelerating stroke improvement outcomes, Wednesday 09 November 2011
  This meeting, held jointly between NHS Improvement and the Ambulance Service Network, was aimed at medical directors of ambulance services, senior paramedics and representatives from stroke networks to raise the priority for stroke and the critical role for the ambulance services in improving the outcomes for stroke patients. Presentations from the meeting are available.
  


• Going up a gear: practical steps to improve stroke care
  The Stroke Improvement Programme's publication draws together the key themes and learning from the 2009/10 projects and includes ‘top tips’ that have emerged from the projects to help others as they make improvements in stroke care (published June 2010)
  
• Implementing best practice in acute care: case studies from the acute care national projects (published June 2010)
  
• Governance Issues for Telemedicine in Acute Stroke
  The Governance Issues for Telemedicine in Acute Stroke document aims to help teams develop a governance framework to support the implementation and delivery of a telemedicine system in acute stroke.  Telemedicine in acute stroke may be used to support effective 24 hour stroke specialist advice either at single sites, or across networked sites working in collaboration, within or across trusts. Guidance provided in this document represents accumulated current and planned practice across a number of networks and clinical sites across England and must be considered as a recommendation only.
  
• Telemedicine: Improving access and outcomes for acute stroke patients and expanding opportunities along the pathway event presentations, 08 February 11
  
• Redesigning Acute Stroke Care event presentations, 27 January 2009

Contact
Sue Hall
National Improvement Lead
NHS Improvement - Stroke
Email: sue.hall@improvement.nhs.uk