Waikato Hospital Stroke Unit on the move

Waikato Hospital’s Organised Stroke Service this week moved from ward five to refurbished facilities in ward 55 of the Elizabeth Rothwell Building.

Staff and management attended a blessing early Monday morning. The ward features a new seven-bed high observation unit, call bell system and bathroom modifications to suit the stroke service.

Later this week rehabilitation stroke patients, currently in ward 58, will also move to ward 55.

Clinical Director Dr Peter Wright, pictured, said locating all acute and rehabilitation stroke beds together allows better coordinated, expert care for the patients. It brings together nursing, allied health and medical staff from both acute and rehabilitation services with a clear focus on the patient rather than the therapist.

A recent audit by the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand suggested New Zealanders do not have sufficient access to organised hospital stroke services, and that Waikato had an impressive 95 per cent of all stroke patients in stroke unit beds, and were matching the best stroke units in the country for most indices. The full Stroke Foundation of New Zealand report is at www.stroke.org.nz

"Our own audit of our first 12 months of the new stroke service showed that we produced many excellent outcomes in line with published stroke unit expectations.”

• stroke rate at 90 days after Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a very low 3.4 per cent
• the proportion of TIAs having "stroke-preventing" carotid endarterectomy within a week rose from pre-stroke service 38 to now 66 per cent
• we deliver "clot-busting" thrombolysis to a consistent 4.5-5.0 per cent of our ischaemic strokes
• our inpatient mortality after an index stroke reduced from pre-stroke service 11.3 per cent to now 9.2 per cent
• our 12 month mortality and "proportion of patients in a resthome" after an index stroke = 34 per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively
• and whilst achieving all this we have reduced average length of stays for stroke and TIA, saving two-three beds in the hospital just by streamlining how we manage most aspects of patient care.

The Waikato DHB region has an ageing population. Over the next 10 years, there will be a 40 per cent increase in those aged more than 65 years of age. Research indicates that the mean age for first ever stroke is 74.6 years for New Zealand Europeans but only 61.9 for Maori, so the Organised Stroke Service has a key role in Waikato DHB’s response to the needs of older Maori.

ends

15 June 2010

Mary Anne Gill | Communications Director |  p +64 7 834 3684 | m +64 21 705 213 | maryanne.gill@waikatodhb.health.nz