Thousands of deaths and disabilities caused by strokes in Australia could have been avoided with better care and facilities, according to a new audit by the Stroke Foundation

You don't need best practices or 'care', you need protocols with defined efficacy ratings. That will give you RESULTS, not just better care. Ask for the correct intervention, not the lazy response of better care. YOU have to tell these hospitals they don't know a fucking thing about getting survivors to 100% recovery. That is the only goal, NOT BETTER CARE! 
https://tenplay.com.au/news/national/november-2017/disappointing-care-failing-thousands-of-stroke-patients

The study surveyed more than 30,000 stroke admissions to more than 120 hospitals in 2016 and found many patients were “denied best practice.”

Only 36 percent of stroke victims are reaching hospital within the crucial 4.5-hour window in order to receive essential ‘clot-busting’ medication, and just 30 percent received the medication within an hour of arriving at hospital - compared with 59 percent in the US and 62 percent in the UK. 

The medication, called thrombolysis, acts by dissolving clots of blood disrupting blood flow to the brain. The sooner it is administered after a stroke, the better the chances of recovery.

But the audit found the potentially life-saving medication is only being used in 13 percent of eligible cases Australia-wide - although this is up from seven percent in 2015.

This is despite it being available in more than 70 percent of hospitals in the country.

The report also found a “significant disparity” between regional and metro areas, with less than half of regional victims receiving care from a dedicated stroke unit, compared to more than 75 percent in metro areas.

Australians in regional areas were 19 percent more likely to suffer a stroke than city-dwellers, according to the audit.

Sharon McGowan, CEO of the Stroke Foundation, said there is a lot of work to be done to achieve best practice.

“Surviving and living well after stroke should not be determined by your post code,” she said.

“Australia has one of the most advanced trauma systems in the world, we need to apply the same thinking to emergency stroke treatment to ensure people living in regional and rural Australia have the best chance(Weasel words, You expect results) of making a meaningful recovery after a stroke.”

But there’s a silver lining: the report found the number of stroke units Australia-wide had increased from 87 in 2015 to 95 this year, and the use of thrombolysis increased from only 7 percent in 2015.

Ms McGowan says improvements to stroke care can be achieved.

“Stroke is a serious medical emergency which requires urgent attention, but with the right treatment at the right time many people are able to recover,” she said.

“We [must] ensure every patient with a stroke has a clear pathway to stroke treatment, whether that be at the regional hospital, utilising telehealth, or transported to the nearest comprehensive stroke service.

“This means clear processes between ambulances, emergency departments and stroke units enabling patients to be diagnosed and provided with appropriate treatment quickly,” she said.

European Stroke Organisation - ESOC Day 2 18 May 2017

I see nothing here that helps survivors recover better. Nothing on solving all the problems in stroke. I would say this conference was totally fucking useless.  Better results NOT better care you blithering idiots. Do you want to solve problems or just lazily talk about them?
Oops, once again not following Dale Carnegie, 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'.

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=175501&CultureCode=en

18 May 2017 European Stroke Organisation (ESO)

Collaboration and the Future of Stroke Care Drive Discussion on Day 2 of ESOC 2017
See video interviews and summary slides at:
http://www.esoc2017.com/conference-information/conference-news

The European Stroke Organisation's (ESO) ongoing commitment to collaboration with other stakeholders in stroke prevention, treatment and management was clearly evident in today's congress programme with four sessions on shared focus areas.
ESO and the Stroke Alliance For Europe (SAFE), the region's leading stroke patient organisation, launched the Burden of Stroke Report.
The report defines current incidence and prevalence of stroke in Europe, care provision, and resulting disability and impact on society.
The release of this report lays the foundation for the ESO-SAFE Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030 which aims to guide European policy on stroke care for the next decade.
A joint session between ESO and the World Stroke Organisation provided a 'Global Perspective on Stroke', from the effect of poverty to current approaches aimed at reducing the impact of stroke on a global scale. Jon Barrick, SAFE President and WSO Chair of the World Stroke Campaign Committee, co- chaired the session with WSO President Prof Werner Hacke. "It was clear from the presentations that stroke is related to poverty," said Mr. Barrick. "As such, stroke is not just a health issue but requires economic and government action.
The message to governments from advocacy groups like SAFE and WSO is that their decisions have consequences in health terms." He added that one of the most striking points of the session is that air pollution was ranked 5th on the list of stroke risk factors. "Risk factors 1 to 4 can all be managed by changes in lifestyle or with the assistance of medication," he said. "Poverty and air pollution are, in most cases, beyond the individual's control." The session also highlighted that there is a greater proportion of haemorrhagic stroke compared to ischaemic stroke amongst the poorest people in the poorest regions of the world. "Poverty and air pollution are, in most cases, beyond the individual's control," commented Mr. Barrick. "We need to address these issues at a national and global level."
ESO and the Chinese Stroke Association (CSA) compared the differences in stroke care and research between the different healthcare systems. A number of clinical trials in China have informed practice in recent years, e.g. CHANCE study (Clopidogrel with Aspirin in Acute Minor Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack. The ESO-CSA collaboration aims to build on this already successful partnership.
The ESO EAN ESMINT SAFE collaboration presented their survey of the current provision of stroke care in Europe and what needs to be done in the next decade to meet the challenges ahead. The survey highlighted the need to adopt common standards and ensure better access to stroke treatments across Europe.

Residents in Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead to face trips to different hospitals after stroke unit shuts at Slough's Wexham Park

It becomes even  more important now for your doctors and hospitals to prevent all the neuronal cascade of death in the first week from these 5 causes. Without solving this problem you as a stroke patient are going to be really screwed. Even worse I bet your doctors and hospitals won't even know about or acknowledge that neuronal cascade of death. That is pure incompetency. Ask them why they are so fucking incompetent.
http://www.windsorobserver.co.uk/news/14995317.Stroke_unit_at_Wexham_Park_Hospital_to_close/

PEOPLE who suffer a stroke in Windsor or Slough will face longer journeys to hospital following the closure of an emergency-response unit.
The acute stroke unit at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough is shutting its doors at the end of 2016, meaning anyone who suffers a stroke in the area faces a longer journey to either High Wycombe or Chertsey from January 1 2017.
The East Berkshire clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) say the changes will result in better care(not results?) as Wycombe General Hospital and St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey have enhanced hyper acute stroke units, a step up on the level of care possible at standard units, and offer better chances of recovery. (Who gives a fuck about better chances? What are your recovery results? tPA full efficacy? 30day deaths? 100% recovery? )
Wexham Park will now only take responsibility for stroke rehabilitation, with a new unit going live from January 1.
But the changes have raised questions over journey times for residents in Slough and Windsor.
Councillor Lynne Jones (Ind, Old Windsor) also of the Old Windsor Residents’ Association, said: “Maidenhead to Wycombe is fine, but Windsor to Wycombe is another matter completely. I’m not sure the closure is such a good idea.
“It would have been better if Wexham Park had been enhanced.”
Wycombe Hospital is situated just over 18 miles away from central Windsor if you take the fastest route, and St Peter’s in Chertsey is more than 10 miles away, whereas Wexham Park is 5.5 miles away from the centre of Windsor and just two miles away from central Slough.
Patients in Maidenhead however will face a similar journey length to Wycombe as the current one to Wexham Park.
Andy Giles, 69, from Holyport, suffered a stroke on December 11, 2013, and was taken to Wexham Park for emergency care.
He said: “The care at Wexham Park has gone from strength to strength, I hope the move is not going to be detrimental to any victim but I think it is a case of short-term loss and long-term gain.”
Cllr David Coppinger, (Con, Bray) said: “Evidence in London has shown that taking someone to a centre of excellence is far better than going to a local hospital.”
Fiona Slevin-Brown, Director of Strategy and Operations for the East Berkshire CCGs, said: “Ambulances can reach our nearest hyper acute stroke units within the ‘golden hour’, which is the hour immediately following the onset of stroke symptoms. Stroke patients have a much greater chance of surviving and avoiding long-term disabilities if they arrive at a specialist hyper acute stroke unit and receive treatment within that first hour.”