Specialist stroke centres to provide 24-hour care
NHS £40m plan to create three hyper-acute units for victims
Maidstone Hospital could become a specialist hub for stroke patients – or risk losing its unit – in a radical £40 million shake- up of services in the county.
Despite general stroke services currently being provided in six of seven of Kent and Medway’s hospitals, there are no dedicated departments that, in other parts of the UK, have been shown to improve outcomes for people with the condition.
The NHS is proposing to turn three existing stroke units into specialist hyper-acute stroke units (HASU), with around-theclock care provided by a team of experts and therapists and with consultants on wards seven days a week.
The shortlist includes Maidstone Hospital, Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, Medway Maritime, Darent Valley and the William Harvey in Ashford. Dr David Hargroves, clinical lead for the stroke review, said: “This is incredibly good news because it means we will be able to ensure everyone treated in Kent and Medway gets the best care, no matter what time of day, day of the week, or where they are when the stroke happens.
“Currently, although stroke staff do their best, the way services are organised means that some people do not get the right treatment fast enough, particularly overnight and at weekends.
“Centralising urgent stroke care in three excellent hyperacute stroke units would change all that.” There are five options, all including a different combination of three hospitals.
Each is designed to allow at least 98% of people in Kent and Medway to access a HASU within the “golden hour” of treatment.
But concerns have been raised over the ability of ambulance services to meet that if half the current number of stroke units have closed.
A public consultation is set to begin next month.