Newly launched Australian Acute Stroke Standard

What would you say to PM Tony Abbott about stroke services and gaps in your care? The awesome Brenda Booth, who had her stroke at 41, told her story this week through the Fight Stroke campaign. For more about Brenda on our consumer council page: https://www.strokefoundation.com.au/about-us/governance/consumer-council Post your comments below, it’s your chance to be heard!

you know what is wrong with that clinical standard? It seems to assume that someone suffering a stroke is going to be a. given a brain scan and b. admitted to hospital. FAST was pretty meaningless for my husband as his TIA happened at work and the information by the time he got to the hospital was third hand at best & he didn't actually remember what happened at work, but he fudged and was able to speak normally enough in the hospital ER. The doctor who saw him basically said that any scan would show nothing, therefore he would be discharged without treatment of any kind :(  I really had hoped these clinical standards would have some useful guidelines for how he was treated by first responders and by the ER so that I could use it to advocate for some 'catch up' by the hospital.  However seeing all the multitude of services he missed out on because of bad judgement, I am tempted simply to use that as a tool to make a complaint to the hospital authorities.

Hi Kay,
I am sorry to hear your husband didn't receive the care you feel he should have, it is hard enough to have something like that happen and to top it off to then have to deal with a health system and professionals who you feel weren't helpful.

The stroke standard was created to support the delivery of care a stroke survivor should receive and to work with and compliment the NSF stroke guidelines that promote best practice evidence based care.

Unfortunately documents like the Commissions Acute Stroke Care Standard and the NSF Acute Stroke Guidelines are only a guide to promote and support best practice care, the only problem as you are only too aware is that sometimes it doesn't always happen.

I hope your husband makes the best possible recovery.

Brenda

Hi Brenda

Do you have a link to the NSF Acute Stroke Guidelines? I will look them up too. As I said, because his symptoms at no point seemed to resemble FAST he was in trouble to begin with. I think I'll be printing out these guidelines for him to discuss with his doctor all the services he missed out on.

Kay

Hi Kay,

i am really no good at putting links on Enableme using my iPad, I needed help from Diana at the NSF who is wonderful and helped me put the links (above). If you go to the NSF home web page and select "what we do", then select "treatment programs" and then select "clinical guidelines" it takes you to the Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management 2010, they are big 166 pages so you may want to select sections to print, there is also a 1 page fact sheet. I hope this is of some help to you for your husband.

cheers

Brenda

Thanks Brenda. My mind is working poorly, I only just worked out what NSF stood for just now :)