New unit 'improves' stroke treatment
10:37am Wednesday 3rd October 2012 in News
HEALTH officials have released figures which show a controversial new centralised stroke treatment unit has improved the treatment of acute patients.
Since the new centralised unit was set up at the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, in January, about 89 per cent of patients have been given a brain scan within 24 hours of arriving. Also, every patient who needed clotbusting drugs was given an infusion within an hour of arrival.
The centralised unit replaced a two-centre approach to stroke treatment, with some patients being taken to the Durham hospital and others being taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital.
With the Darlington acute stroke unit now closed, members of Darlington Borough Councils health and partnerships scrutiny committee asked for more information about the way the new service is working.
At the last meeting of the committee in July, councillors voiced concerns that some patients from the Darlington area with suspected strokes were still being taken by ambulance to the Memorial Hospital.
New statistics released by the hospital trust yesterday showed that between January and July this year 89 per cent of 530 confirmed stroke patients in County Durham and Darlington were admitted directly to the stroke unit at the University Hospital of North Durham.
The figures showed that only 23 stroke patients 4.3 per cent of the total admitted went to Darlington Memorial Hospital first.
Thirteen were transferred to the North Durham hospital stroke unit while the other ten were not transferred because of other medical issues.
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New unit 'improves' stroke treatment