Feedback needed for plans to change in-hospital stroke care
Time is running out to have your say on a proposal to change the way in-hospital stroke care is provided for the people living in Chichester, Arun, Worthing, Adur and south of Horsham.
A new Acute Stroke Centre at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester is being proposed, working together with the Comprehensive Stroke Centre in Brighton. Under the plans, which are the subject of a public consultation until April 21, Worthing Hospital would no longer receive emergency stroke admissions. In the remaining few weeks, the NHS in Sussex is particularly to hear keen from more men. An online survey can be completed at www.sussex.ics.nhs.uk/ improving-stroke-services-inwest-sussex/
Consultant stroke physician at Worthing Hospital, Dr Rajen Patel, said: “It’s great to see how many people have shared their views with us and we want to thank everyone who has completed the survey and attended our events. So far, the majority of people engaging with us have been women, but more men than women have a stroke in the UK each year and men are also more likely to have a stroke at a younger age, so it’s really importantwe also hear from men of all ages about our proposal to develop a new Acute Stroke Centre in Chichester.
“We know some people are concerned about having to travel a bit further to a specialist stroke centre in either Chichester or Brighton but spending 10-20 minutes longer in ambulance is far out weighed by the benefits of receiving treatment at a specialist 24/7 centre.
“We know from studies in other areas where this has happened that by improving round the clock access to consultant stroke physicians, specialist nurses, therapists, imaging servicesand treatments, we can improve outcomes for patients .”
Under the proposal, there would bean increase in the numberof people with a stroke going to a new Acute Stroke Centre at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester and the Comprehensive Stroke Centre in the new Louisa Martindale Building at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
Working together as a network, the two stroke centres would ensure everyone in the coastal area of West Sussex is within a 60-minute ambulance journey to a stroke centre staffed by the right specialists ,24 hours a day, seven days a week.