Updated Clinical Standards for Stroke Services (PDF, 68K, 10secs)
About the update
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) produced clinical standards for Stroke Services in March 2004. Scotland’s action plan for health and wellbeing “Better Health, Better Care” highlighted stroke as a national clinical priority.
In 2008 the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) developed a guideline on the Management of patients with stroke or TIA: assessment, investigation, immediate management and secondary prevention. The guideline emphasises the importance of getting patients to specialist stroke services quickly to allow prompt diagnosis and treatment.
To support this work NHS QIS undertook a selective review of the clinical standards to support the service by ensuring that they reflect the most recent recommendations in the SIGN guideline. In addition, the opportunity was taken to amend the working of some criteria to make sure that they are aligned with the requirements of the Scottish Stroke Audit.
It is envisaged that this work will allow the standards to remain current for the foreseeable future while giving healthcare professionals in Scotland up-to-date advice and guidance to support the provision of high quality care for patients with stroke and TIA. We do not intend to further revise the standards beyond this selective update at present. This will allow those working within stroke services the opportunity to implement the advice and guidance already available.
