Trust comes top in carotid surgery audit
23-Jun-2011
The North West London Hospitals NHS Trust has emerged as one of the best performers in the country in providing stroke prevention surgery, winning plaudits in the Daily Telegraph, the Health Service Journal, as well as the local press.
This follows the publication of the Carotid Endartectomy Audit, which concentrates on the time taken for patients who display symptoms of a stroke or mini-stroke to receive crucial, stroke-preventing surgery of the neck arteries. The report showed that 100% of patients at the Trust received surgery within 14 days of referral, putting it at the top of the audit results.
Sue Fenwick Elliott, clinical manager for stroke services, said: “We are delighted with this result, which ranks us among the best in the country for the cases reported. Close collaboration between A&E, stroke, radiology and vascular surgery teams has enabled us to achieve our target of 100% of patients receiving surgery within 14 days of being referred to the hospital.
“Northwick Park Hospital now offers a seven-day TIA clinic and daily liaison with the vascular team, which ensures that patients are on a fast track as soon as they arrive and have rapid access to the most appropriate treatment.
“With plans to expand the service to become a regional vascular unit, we aim to do better still and deliver access to surgery with 48 hours of referral for the majority of patients.”
You can read more about this here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8586516/Faster-access-to-stroke-surgery-could-help-over-1000.html