Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at Colney.
Adam Gretton, Health correspondent Monday, August 12, 2013 7:00 AM
Health chiefs have pledged to improve services at Norfolks biggest hospital after it emerged that the NHS trust was not hitting any of its stroke targets.
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Bosses at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have drawn up a recovery plan to improve the speed of treatment and standard of care for patients who have suffered a stroke.
The hospital at Colney, which is one of three stroke centres in Norfolk and treats around 1,200 stroke patients a year, is currently failing to hit six key targets.
However, officials hope to have a stroke improvement plan in place by February, which includes an increase in the number of dedicated stroke beds and additional nurses, physiotherapists and consultants.
The pledge has been welcomed by members of the Norwich Clinical Commissioning Group. However, a question mark has been raised about how the improvements will be funded.
Patients who have suffered a stroke are supposed to be admitted to a hyper-acute stroke unit (HASU) within four hours of arrival at hospital. However, only 59pc of patients were admitted to HASU in that time limit so far this year.
The hospital is also failing to hit a target of ensuring patients have access to a brain scan within 60 minutes of arriving. Currently, only 76pc of patients who suffer a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or mini stroke are treated within 24 hours, compared with the national target of 90pc.
Original post:
Pledge to improve stroke services at Norfolk hospital