Stroke care at Lincoln County Hospital praised in report

The specialist stroke unit at Lincoln County Hospital has been praised in an external assessment.

The report found patients are receiving the best possible treatment within three hours, improving their recovery speed and reducing rehabilitation time.

The £195,000 unit opened last year and has led to an ‘improvement in standards’ of care which is ‘consistently patient centred’.

The external assessment was undertaken by the NHS Midlands and East Stroke Review External Expert Advisory Group (EEAG) and Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group.

The assessment took place in February 2013 at the specialist stroke units at Lincoln County and Pilgrim Hospital, Boston to assess the quality of care in line with national standards.

The report found United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) is ensuring that nearly all stroke patients receive a vital brain scan immediately “resulting on some of the best imaging times nationally.”

Dr Simon Leach for ULHT said: “The review team commented at Lincoln that our door to scan times were amongst the best in England.”

“The symptoms of a stroke appear F.A.S.T and spotting them quickly can mean fewer brain cells are damaged, reducing damage and disability.”

Sarah Newton, Chief Operating Officer for Lincolnshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “As the NHS organisation which commissions stroke services on behalf of people in Lincolnshire, we were delighted to see the standards of stroke care being delivered at Lincoln County Hospital.

“In particular, our CCG is impressed with the hospital’s tracker system which identifies all stroke patients to ensure they’re receiving the right level of care and the seven day therapy services.

“Lincolnshire West CCG will continue to monitor the care being delivered at Lincoln’s stroke unit, in line with national guidelines to ensure people in Lincolnshire receive the best standards of care.”