Quality of acute stroke care in a regional Victorian hospital, Australia

Objective The quality of acute stroke care in a regional Victorian hospital (study hospital) was assessed by comparing with selected standard indicators of Acute Stroke Clinical Care. Design A retrospective review of records of patients with stroke was performed manually and by reviewing electronic database. Setting The study was carried out in Goulburn Valley Health, one of the five regional referral and teaching hospitals in Victoria, Australia. Participants Patients with stroke who were discharged from the study hospital between October 2015 and March 2016. Main outcome measures Timeliness of brain imaging, proportion of patients thrombolysed if arrived within 4.5 hours of stroke and timeliness of thrombolysis. Results A total of 66 patients' records was found. Brain imaging was completed for 45%, compared to 25.8% nationally, if arrived to the study hospital within 1 hour of stroke and 100% imaging completed within 24 hours of arrival, compared to 75.6% nationally. When patients arrived to the emergency department within 4.5 hours of stroke, 37.5% (23.6% nationally and 18.6% in similar- sized hospitals) of them were thrombolysed, while none was thrombolysed within 60 minutes of arrival. Door-to-thrombolysis time was 85 minutes, 7 minutes longer than national standard. Symptoms onset to thrombolysis time was 225 minutes, 55 minutes longer than national standard. Conclusion The timeliness of brain imaging and thrombolysis was comparable in the study hospital to that of the national standard, while other stroke management indicators still require improvement. Continuing efforts for improvement and revisiting possible areas of delay are warranted.