Hospital video link will help save lives of stroke victims

Published on Friday 26 December 2008 09:10

A VIDEO conferencing system which could save the lives of stroke victims has been launched across the Lothians.

Casualty departments have been supplied with screens directly linked to the Western General's stroke unit, where world-leading experts can look at a patient and decide what course of treatment is necessary.

The move has been hailed as a huge sign of progress in stroke care, and as well as saving lives it could also limit the long-term health problems those who survive strokes can experience.

NHS Lothian bosses have long stressed that the Western has been blessed with some of the globe's best stroke experts, but when people are rushed to either the ERI or St John's the chances are they will be seen by people without that specialist knowledge.

Although it has only been in place for a short period of time, one patient has already benefited from it, after the health board's leading stroke expert Prof Martin Dennis advised against carrying out a certain procedure – clot-busting – because it may cause more harm than good.

Prof Dennis said: "This new equipment is the first phase in our plans to make specialist stroke care advice available at all times.

"By using it, I've already been able to advise colleagues not to proceed with plans to thrombolyse one patient, as I was able to see for myself whether that procedure was appropriate."

About 80 per cent of strokes are caused by the blockage of blood supply to the brain and, if used within a few hours, the clot busting – or thrombolyse – relieves that blockage. But if too much time passes the treatment can actually make matters worse, and it is this aspect that the Western experts will be able to advise on the most.

Special suites have been created at the other two acute hospitals – the ERI and St John's – which do have stroke specialists, but not at all times of day.

At night patients suspected of having had a stroke are already rushed to the Western, meaning the video facilities will be largely of benefit throughout the day.

The 60,000 project could take hours off the decision-making process, with time being the crucial factor when strokes are involved.

NHS Lothian has come in for some criticism recently after figures showed, of the three main hospitals, only the Western came close to getting patients into a specialist unit within 24 hours in accordance with Scottish Government targets.

Holyrood wants 80 per cent of patients to be seen in that time, but St John's only gets 38 per cent in within a day and the ERI 41 per cent. At 69 per cent, the Western is much closer. Around 1100 stroke patients are admitted each year in the Lothians.

The project has been funded by NHS Lothian alongside the Scottish Centre for Telehealth.

If successful, the scheme could eventually extend to provide on-call stroke experts with laptops so they could offer the same advice even if they were at another location or at home.