Issue - items at meetings - Stroke Services in Brighton and Hove

22.1.1  Dr Nicola Gainsborough updated HWOSC members on plans for     stroke services in the region.

Currently services are run on two sites, RSCH and PRH. The building layout in RSCH also adds pressure, with stroke patients having to be taken in three lifts to access services, with a minimum of seven minutes before the service can be accessed.  There is also a real pressure to provide a 24/7 service.

The service scores well on national audit results for stroke services but improved scoring is predicated on improved staffing and resource levels.

In London, they are focussing services on 8 hyper-acute stroke service units, working to ‘Every Minute Matters’. This higher resourced service has resulted in a reduced mortality rate for strokes.

Dr Gainsborough said that there are currently 5 sites which offer stroke services in Sussex – this is being reviewed to see whether some sites could be consolidated. BSUH already offers a 24/7 service but other sites such as St Richards in Chichester does not provide clot –busting medication out of hours so patients are taken to Portsmouth.

22.2In response to members’ questions, Dr Gainsborough said that modelling work was being undertaken to consider all options. It is unlikely that a single site would be chosen – this would not be practical due to the geographical layout of the county. The public message is that care is best provided when it can be provided in large numbers – 600+ patients per year is optimum.

22.3Dr Gainsborough also commented that there is a national drive for early supported discharge of patients. Brighton and Hove’s Adult Social Care team was very good at responding to calls for early assisted discharge, which was of benefit to the patient. Not all areas were so helpful.

22.4In terms of timescales, the final modelling report is due in March 2015.

22.5Members thanked Dr Gainsborough and asked for updates in due course.