PAST - Pre-hospital Acute Stroke Triage
Hunter New England Area Health Service
This project was entered in the 2007 NSW Health Awards, Building Regional and other Partnerships for Health category.
Contact: Tonia Easton
Abstract
Rapid access to organised stroke care and ‘clot busting’ thrombolysis (tPA) results in substantial improvements in long-term outcome. Unfortunately the majority of patients with acute ischaemic stroke don’t get to hospital soon enough, with less than one percent of patients actually receiving this highly effective and highly cost-effective therapy.
The Pre-Hospital Acute Stroke Triage (PAST) protocol was designed to reduce pre-hospital and Emergency Department (ED) delays to treatment and improve equity of access to acute stroke therapy.
During the six month intervention period, the tPA therapy rate increased from 2.3% to 14% (p < 0.0001), while the time spent by the patient in the ED was more than halved. Costs associated with rehabilitation and nursing home care were reduced by almost $1.6 million dollars for the first 12 months.
The full entry document can be downloaded in the formats listed below:
