Platinum-winning stroke unit urges community to think FAST Camden Haven Camden Haven News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - August 18, 2024 The award-winning team: Tahlia Collins (NSW Ambulance), Jenni Steel (PMBH Stroke Care Coordinator), Emily O’Rourke (Stroke Physiotherapist), Dr Matthew Kinchington (Head of Medicine – Stroke Physician), Stephanie Barber (Stroke Clinical Nurse Coordinator), Dr Dawn Martin (Head of Emergency Medicine), Matt Hoffmann (Acting District Manager Allied Health), Elle Debreceny (Nurse Unit Manager 3D/Medical Assessment and Acute Stroke units), Michelle Coad (Stroke Dietitian) and Sam Degasso (Stroke Care Program Specialist Angels Initiative). THE standard of stroke patient care at Port Macquarie Base Hospital (PMBH) has gone from Gold to Platinum in just a few months. The hospital has become only the fifth in Australia to receive a World Stroke Organisation (WSO) Angels Platinum Award for meeting the highest benchmarks in treatment and care. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au Coordinator Jenni Steel said in a statement that the team was “thrilled” and “even prouder” to have improved on the hospital’s Gold Status so rapidly. PMBH treats approximately 275 strokes each year. A Deloitte Access Economics report, commissioned by the Stroke Foundation, found regional residents are seventeen percent more likely to suffer a stroke than city dwellers. Head of Medicine and Stroke Physician Dr Matthew Kinchington said the Mid North Coast Local Health District’s consistently positive outcomes were due to teamwork. “From paramedics who notify the emergency department of the stroke patient coming in, through to all the staff who work quickly to treat the patient, including stroke specialists in the NSW Telestroke Service,” he said. The award came ahead of National Stroke Week, which carried the message that everyone should learn how to recognise the signs of stroke. This made a difference in the cases of Michael Reid and Leonie Wiseman who suffered a stroke on the same day, around the same time, earlier this year. Both required treatment at PMHC ahead of urgent transport to John Hunter Hospital. “They were fortunate to be with people who knew what to do,” Ms Steel said. Ms Wiseman’s mother passed away from a stroke and while she assumed it would be painful, that wasn’t the case. “When I was told I was having a stroke, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. Mr Reid recovered quickly following clot-busting treatment. “By the time I got to Newcastle, the feeling and strength had started to return in my left leg and my speech and hand movement recovered soon after.” The Australian Stroke Foundation says the signs of a stroke can be remembered as F.A.S.T. Face (has a side drooped), Arms (can’t be raised), Speech (is slurred or confused) and Time (is critical, call 000). Emergency doctors Tadeusz Davenport and David Thomson from PMBH, Michael Reid and his wife Susan, Stroke Care Coordinator Jenni Steel, and Stroke Clinical Nurse Consultant Stephanie Barber.
