Princess Alexandra Hospital among Australia’s best for stroke care
Princess Alexandra Hospital is now one of only six hospitals in Queensland to be awarded Stroke Unit Certification by the Australian Stroke Coalition (ASC) — and one of just four comprehensive stroke services recognised for excellence in stroke care.
The ASC Stroke Unit Certification Program certification is only awarded when a hospital consistently meets a set of national criteria for delivering best stroke care delivery. This includes caring for all stroke patients on a single dedicated ward, providing specialist staffing, regular training, data monitoring and improvement, and patient involvement in decision making.
Stroke Unit certification is recommended by the World Health Organization, the World Stroke Organization and the Australian Government’s National Strategic Action Plan for Heart Disease and Stroke, as a quality assurance and improvement activity.
Stroke Foundation's Executive Director of Stroke Programs and Research, , commended Princess Alexandra Hospital on achieving Stroke Unit Certification, and says this will improve care outcomes for patients.
“Treatment on a dedicated stroke unit is proven to make the biggest overall difference of any intervention to patient outcomes following stroke, reducing the risks of both death and disability. Both Australian and international evidence suggests that rigorous stroke centre certification programs improve the quality of stroke care and patient outcomes.”
The need for a certification system was reinforced by findings in Stroke Foundation’s National Acute Services Audit 2023, which found that not all Australian hospitals with a self-designated stroke unit meet the requirements for stroke unit care.
“This means some people with stroke receive less-than-optimal care which impacts their recovery and leads to poorer health outcomes. This is unfair. All Australian survivors of stroke deserve the best quality of care regardless of where they are hospitalised. There should be no postcode lottery,” Mr Hill said.
Consultant Neurologist and Stroke Unit Medical Lead at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Dr Michael Devlin said the certification recognises combined efforts from all involved in stroke care at Princess Alexandra Hospital, and an ongoing commitment to improve stroke care in the community.
"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"
