Dr Omar Ahmad (back right) and colleagues of the stroke unit at Hornsby Hospital
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital has joined Royal North Shore in becoming one of the small number of hospitals in Australia to boast an accredited stroke unit. The stroke unit received accreditation from the Australian Stroke Coalition and Stroke Foundation for its standard of care, training and services it offers. Hitting the right note for patients
The stroke unit treats about 210 patients a year and since 2022, began thrombolysising patients, through clot-busting medication. Dr Omar Ahmad, neurologist and head of neurology at Hornsby Ku- ring-gai Hospital, said 93 per cent of patients who presented with stroke at Hornsby were admitted into the stroke unit within the first few days of their care.
“It means people who are being managed by experienced staff, have dedicated monitoring in a dedicated stroke area, compared to patients who are on a general ward,” he said.
The accreditation will continue to be monitored every four years by the Australian Stroke Coalition, which has established a set of standards for stroke units to achieve by 2030 to improve outcomes.
“We know that patients on a general ward are more poorly managed than in a stroke unit. “This is about reducing mortality in strokes and maintaining high standards of care throughout the system.”
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