ERI misses targets for care of stroke patients

Published on Friday 2 October 2009 10:15

MORE than half of stroke patients rushed to the city's largest hospital are not receiving the recommended care.

New figures, which have emerged in the Scottish Stroke Care Audit, have revealed 56 per cent of people admitted to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary following a stroke were not moved to a specialist unit within one day.

The Scottish Government has set hospitals a target of getting 70 per cent into such a unit within that timeframe to ensure the best possible outcome for the patients.

Last year 379 people were discharged from the ERI following a stroke, meaning nearly 200 failed to be placed in the special unit in time.

Experts have long emphasised the importance of patients being admitted to such a unit as quickly as possible to boost their chances of survival and improve their prognosis once discharged.

At St John's Hospital in Livingston the figure was even worse, with only 40 per cent put into a stroke unit.

Only the Western General, which received 428 patients, managed to meet the 70 per cent target, by two per cent, an improvement from last year's findings.

Critics said the issue came down to capacity at Little France, although health chiefs were keen to point out progress had been made in recent years.

Tom Waterson, Lothian Branch Chairman for Unison, said the recent announcement that 50 more beds would be added to the ERI was evidence that there were bed shortages.

"It all comes down to capacity at the ERI," he said. "Given that they've admitted they are at least 50 beds short, this shows that it has to be one of the reasons for the situation with stokes."

Proposals are in place to boost stroke care at the ERI.

Professor Martin Dennis, a lead director on stroke services for NHS Lothian, told health board members last year that having a main unit at Little France with direct links to other hospitals would provide far reaching benefits. Advances in technology would allow an expert at the ERI to instruct other health workers to administer top-class care regardless of their location.

NHS Lothian's medical director Dr Charles Swainson said: "It is gratifying that the latest Stroke Care Audit recognised the quality already being achieved in Lothian.

We are certainly not complacent, however, and further enhancing both standards of stroke care and outcomes is one of our top priorities."

Chief executive of Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland David Clark

said: "The audit highlights there is unacceptable performance in some areas, which are not providing the evidence-based treatment that everyone deserves.

"In contrast there have been real improvements even in the most remote and rural areas of Scotland."

Struck down in his prime

GRAHAM McGuire travelled the world teaching some of the richest men the tricks of maritime studies.

Approaching 53 he was fit, healthy and regarded as one of the leading lights in his industry.

But a short time later his life was turned on its head when he suffered a stroke.

It left him unable to speak, read or write, and in the last 12 years he has been attempting to rebuild his life.

The Morningside man had gone from a distinguished lecturer who set up Strathclyde University's Centre for Advanced Maritime Studies to someone bar tenders offered glasses of milk to in sympathy, and people in the street thinking he was drunk.

The 65-year-old said: "I had trouble reading and used to get on the wrong bus because, even though it would be right there in front of me, I just couldn't process it.

"I was one of the lucky ones because I had tremendous family and friends around me, but for a lot of people that is not the same."