Stroke unit wins rare platinum award for standard of care Camden Haven Camden Haven News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - August 11, 2024 The award-winning team: Tahlia Collins from NSW Ambulance, PMBH Stroke Care Coordinator Jenni Steel, Stroke Physiotherapist Emily O’Rourke, Head of Medicine (Stroke Physician) Dr Matthew Kinchington, Stroke Clinical Nurse Coordinator Stephanie Barber, Head of Emergency Medicine Dr Dawn Martin, Acting District Manager Allied Health Matt Hoffmann, Nurse Unit Manager 3D/Medical Assessment Unit and Acute Stroke Unit Elle Debreceny, Stroke Dietitian Michelle Coad, and Stroke Care Program Specialist Angels Initiative, Sam Degasso. 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 It is the stroke care unit’s sixth international award. Coordinator Jenni Steel said the team was “thrilled” and “even prouder” to have improved on the hospital’s Gold Status so rapidly. Not only is recognition good for the team’s clinicians, it is also good news for residents of the Camden Haven. 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. This is due to the challenges of travelling longer distances to access care. The Angels Initiative saw the hospital’s stroke care team assessed against benchmarks that included restoring blood flow to the brain for more than 75 percent of eligible patients within 60 minutes of their hospital arrival. “Stroke is a time-critical medical emergency where blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced,” Ms Steel said. “With every passing minute, brain cells can be lost and the risk of disability and death increases.” In addition to demonstrating optimum time to treatment, the unit was recognised for its coordinated care, appropriate scans and screening, ensuring patients were discharged on medications to minimise the risk of further stroke, training, protocols, and team performance. “Acting swiftly on the signs of stroke and implementing best practice care requires almost seamless coordination between ambulance, emergency department, radiology, and stroke unit staff,” Ms Steel said. As a Telestroke Service site, PMBH has 24/7 access to lifesaving stroke diagnosis and treatment by connecting local doctors to specialist stroke physicians via video consultations in the emergency department. PMBH Head of Medicine and Stroke Physician Dr Matthew Kinchington said the Mid North Coast Local Health District’s consistently positive outcomes were a source of pride. “Achieving great outcomes for patients is due to the 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. PMBH treats approximately 275 strokes each year. The Angels Initiative Medical Project Manager in Australia Kim Malkin said every step toward improving care and outcomes for stroke patients was worth celebrating, as there were approximately 38,000 stroke events across Australia each year – around 100 every day. “To date, only a handful of Australian hospitals have achieved WSO Angels Platinum status so Port Macquarie Base Hospital should be immensely proud of this achievement,” Ms Malkin said.
