Review

Accelerating Stroke Improvement Measure
ASI 8: Assessment and review
Proportion of stroke patients that are reviewed six months after leaving hospital.

Background
Community services which include post stroke reviews are responding to the National Stroke Strategy quality markers for a comprehensive service.

Quality marker 14 of the National Stroke Strategy, Assessment and review, outlines the vision for delivering these reviews, with recommendations for timing, including annual health and social care checks. This facilitates a clear pathway back to further specialist review, advice, information, support and rehabilitation where required. The measures of success associated with this include a greater proportion of people reviewed post stroke and a greater proportion of carers receiving assessment.

Quality marker 10 of the National Stroke Strategy, High-quality specialist rehabilitation, states markers of a high quality specialist rehabilitation service include:

• Meeting the needs of the local population
• Commissioning services in partnership between health and social care services to ensure integrated care
• Development of ongoing rehabilitation in the community, provided by stroke-skilled people
• Development and support of a wide range of local community-based and peer-delivered activities to include carers and involving the local voluntary sector, for example peer-led conversation groups and peer-support or befriending schemes.

The measures of success associated with this include reduced readmission and long term dependency rates.

Comprehensive community services that include processes for delivering reviews will not only address quality marker 14, but support the delivery of the first three action points listed above in relation to quality marker 10. They will also act as a catalyst for access to and development of the wider local community based services for stroke survivors and their carers.

The Stroke Improvement Programme has drawn together the learning from the experiences of teams who are providing people who have had a stroke with reviews at six weeks, six months and annually.

National standards
A summary of what national organisations say about reviews for people who have had a stroke.

Evidence
Information on what is already known about reviews for people who have had a stroke.

Projects
Details of ongoing projects looking at developing a review service for people who have had a stroke.

Case studies
Links to existing case studies.


To let us know about your work or to get involved, please email Helen O'Kelly.