MSP welcomes new approach to stroke care in Tayside

Shona Robison, MSP gladly accepted the invitation to visit the acute stroke unit at Ninewells hospital following a meeting with the Stroke Association Scotland.

The new hyper-acute stroke service, which assesses and treats patients in the first 12 hours after admission to hospital, was introduced at Ninewells in November. This means that all Tayside and north east Fife patients now have access to a specialist stroke consultant 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.

The new service has been endorsed by the Stroke Association Scotland and developed with support from Scottish Ambulance Service.

Evidence shows that by being able to quickly access the right assessments, specialists, investigations and treatments the impact of stroke on patients can be reduced.

Colin Oliver from the Stroke Association and Ms Robison were given a tour of the stroke ward where they met with staff and patients to hear about the improvements to the service. They then visited the radiology department to hear about proposed plans to establish Ninewells as a regional centre for the North of Scotland for mechanical thrombectomy.

This is a minimally-invasive procedure in which interventional radiologists use a specialist device to physically remove blood clots from the patient’s artery, rather than using medicines to break down the clots (thrombolysis).

Consultant and clinical lead for stroke at Ninewells Hospital Dr Matthew Lambert said, “Our acute stroke unit at Ninewells is now seeing patients admitted from across Tayside seven-days-a-week, giving them earlier access to specialist treatment before being discharged home or stepped down to their local stroke unit for ongoing care and rehabilitation.

“All patients are now able to be assessed by a stroke specialist, admitted to a stroke unit, have ongoing assessments by therapists and, where clinically appropriate, receive emergency treatment to remove blood clots.”

Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee City East, commented, “I was delighted to be invited along to Ninewells stroke unit today to hear about the new specialist stroke services for Tayside.

“I welcome this move by NHS Tayside to a hyper-acute model of stroke care – the first NHS Board in Scotland to do so – it is great to see NHS Tayside leading the way in this field.

“Thank you to all of the staff for showing me around this fantastic unit and I look forward to hearing updates on its success and progress.”

Andrea Cail, Director Scotland of the Stroke Association said:

“The move by NHS Tayside to a reconfigured stroke service is a positive and important one. The Scottish Government has made a commitment to review what a progressive stroke unit looks like. We want the best possible start to the treatment journey for everyone who has had a stroke and hope the learnings from NHS Tayside will help inform the review.”