Shoalhaven Hospital continues to lead the way when it comes to treating stroke patients
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Shoalhaven was the first Australian hospital to achieve a platinum level of care under the World Stroke Organisation Angels awards, and in recent days received its eighth gold award for the care offered to patients.
Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, presented the latest award to the stroke unit's staff, after watching a demonstration of all the steps the medical team went through when a patient arrived after suffering a stroke.
She said the demonstration of the team's skills and professionalism was "phenomenal".
"The stroke team here do a fabulous job," Mrs Phillips said.
Stroke clinical nurse consultant and rural stroke coordinator, Donna Jay, said the introduction of telehealth services for stroke patients in early 2021 was "a game changer".
The telehealth service gives Shoalhaven staff immediate access to a stroke specialist neurologist in Sydney, to oversee the administration of clot-busting drugs, and even reperfusion processes to open up blocked arteries.
In fact Shoalhaven Hospital's reperfusion rate is much higher than the national average at 16 per cent, compared to a national average of 11 per cent, while the hospital's time frame for administering clot-dissolving drugs was also well ahead of national targets.
They set a 60 minute benchmark for the time taken to administer drugs after a patients is brought through the door, but in Shoalhaven the average is 53.5 minutes.
Ms Jay said that was achieved only through the hard work and dedication of a range of medical professionals.
In addition, "You need the right person to look at the images and decide this is the right treatment," she said.
That level of care and expertise is saving lives among the 300 stroke patients the hospital sees each year, and changing many others.
"We thrombolysed [the medical term for administering clot-dissolving medications in a person suffering a stroke] a man last week," Ms Jay said.
"He came in with complete deficits - couldn't move an arm or leg, but he went home three days later with no deficits, fully resolved."
That level of transformation is why Ms Jay put up her hand to be included in the telehealth program as soon as it was developed.
The hospital now has one of only two certified stroke units in NSW, and it is due to expand from four to nine beds during the hospital's redevelopment.
