Two leading clinicians from the Hampshire Thames Valley region are at the forefront of a national NHS campaign to encourage people to ‘Act FAST’ in the event of a stroke.
Anyone who thinks they or a loved one have symptoms of the killer condition are being urged not to be put off seeking help because of coronavirus.
NHS staff have worked hard to ensure anyone who needs stroke care can safely get it despite the biggest public health emergency in over a century.
Services across the country have been restructured to reduce the risk of patients being exposed to, or passing on infection in hospital.
Dr Raj Thakkar, Clinical Lead at NHS Hampshire Thames Valley Clinical Delivery Networks, said:
“GPs across the South East have adapted to new and agile ways of working since the outbreak of Covid-19 and are now able to offer a variety of consultation options including via text, phone and through video. We are actively in contact with patients who are at risk of stroke which include people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, irregular heartbeat and diabetes.”
“I have been encouraging patients to use home blood pressure machines to send their readings through to the practice. To date we have had 363 readings into my practice alone. We also want to hear from people who are suffering from breathlessness and palpitations as these can be early signs of being at risk of this life threatening health condition. ”
“GP practices and hospitals are now working in a way which means we can run life saving tests at the same time as protecting patients and our own staff from Covid-19 using protective equipment. The risk of ignoring the early signs of a stroke can make a difference between being able to make a full recovery or living with serious disability or even death,”
The F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) acronym is a simple test to help people identify the most common signs of a stroke, and emphasises the importance of acting quickly by calling 999.
- Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
- Arms – can they raise both arms and keep them there?
- Speech – is their speech slurred?
- Time to call 999
Meanwhile, as the coronavirus pandemic set in, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has fast-tracked the use of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool so they could make faster and better decisions about treatment for stroke patients.
The new AI tool allows doctors to view patient scans remotely on an app and make better and faster decisions on the right treatment options for their patients.
Whilst attendance with stroke like symptoms at Royal Berkshire fell by a third during March and April, of those who did attend and were diagnosed with a stroke a higher proportion of patients than previously received life changing surgery – an increase of 43 per cent.
Since the beginning of March, Royal Berkshire has processed over 150 scans using the AI system, helping many patients get faster treatment.
Dr Kiruba Nagaratnam, Clinical Lead for Stroke Medicine at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, said: “This work has revolutionised the way we traditionally reviewed scans and made treatment decisions when we are on-call.
“It has also bypassed the ED physician and radiologist involvement, particularly on weekends. We have already used this to refer patients for life changing thrombectomy surgery on weekends with decisions made remotely.”
Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive at the Stroke Association said: “It’s fantastic news that expert stroke teams are able to use the latest emerging technologies to treat stroke, but they need you to get to hospital as soon as possible to minimise the damage that stroke can bring. Don’t delay. If you spot the signs of a stroke, please Act FAST and call 999.”
