YEOVIL NEWS: Stroke services are Best in the South West

STROKE services in Yeovil District Hospital have been rated as the best in the South West - in the latest national review by the Royal College of Physicians.

The latest Stroke Sentinel National Audit Programme report measured the performance of stroke services across the country between October and December 2014.

Organisations were audited across 44 separate ‘indicators’, from the care and tests delivered immediately on a patient’s arrival, occupational therapy and physiotherapy care, and discharge back home or into the community.

Organisations receive an overall score on a scale of A to B (with A being the highest performing). Yeovil Hospital received a ‘B’ rating, the only Trust to do so in the region.

Jonathan Higman, the hospital’s Director of Urgent Care, said the score was another indication that Yeovil’s stroke care was among the best in the country.

“The effectiveness and efficiency of stroke services has a direct impact upon the outcomes experienced by patients, and the quality of life they enjoy following a stroke.

“This latest review demonstrates the importance our hospital places upon assessing, treating and rehabilitating patients swiftly and safely, and is testament to the expertise of our stroke team.”

Dr Khalid Rashed, stroke consultant at Yeovil Hospital, added: “The stroke team here is delighted with the audit result.

“We are fully committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients, and are grateful and indebted to all those who have supported, and continue to support, stroke services here at Yeovil Hospital.”

The news comes little more than a year when there were active proposals from the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group to remove stroke facilities from Yeovil Hospital and moving them to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

These proposals were later scrapped following strong opposition from local politicians, stroke patients and their families.

Tags:
News.