Stroke patients in Morecambe Bay are receiving excellent care, according to new data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) which has rated the Trust’s services at both the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) and Furness General Hospital (FGH) as ‘A’ for quarter 3 of 2023/24 - the highest score available.
Listening to the concerns of patients, families and carers, working closely with them and scrutinising every aspect of stroke care, are just a few of the initiatives that have led to the Trust’s vastly improved SSNAP score.
SSNAP is the single most comprehensive source of data to improve the quality of stroke care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It looks at all main aspects of stroke care including the quality and performance of services for every stroke patient admitted to hospital or discharged home. Results are published on a quarterly basis.
Patients across the services are continuously asked for their views, and their feedback has helped to bring about many improvements within the Integrated Community Stroke Service at UHMBT. The team covers all hospital stroke services as well as providing care in local communities when patients return home.
Multiple teams across the Trust have been working together as part of the UHMBT Stroke Service Improvement Group and contributing to the stroke improvement work. This was partly in response to a Care Quality Commission inspection in 2020 that found significant issues with stroke services - especially at the RLI. At that point, FGH was rated as ‘D’ and the RLI was rated as ‘E’ - the worst score possible, and the CQC placed regulatory conditions on stroke services.
The teams have been working hard since then and have put several changes in place to make significant improvements to the service - focused on scanning, ring-fencing of stroke unit beds, thrombolysis, specialist assessments and therapy provision. The Trust has also launched an in-house developed electronic ‘Stroke Dashboard’, which was created to bring together all the SSNAP data into one place for the first time so it can be reviewed in real time regularly.
The CQC lifted the regulatory conditions on FGH’s stroke services in September 2022 and on RLI’s stroke services in February 2023.
Anna Nelson, Cross-Bay Stroke Service Manager, UHMBT, said: “Everything we do is for our patients, so it is fantastic news that after a huge amount of work and dedication, our services have achieved ‘A’ grades from the national audit programme.
“The SSNAP data shows that everyone’s efforts have made a real difference for our patients. There has been a major focus on our Stroke Service and a huge amount of effort has gone into the improvements that the Stroke Units at Barrow and Lancaster, the Emergency Department, Radiology, and many other teams and individual colleagues have been making to enhance patient care. The teamwork has been amazing.
“The quicker patients are scanned, the quicker we can confirm a stroke, get patients on the ‘Stroke Pathway’ and ensure that they receive treatment on the Stroke Unit. Timeliness undoubtedly saves lives and improves the care of patients who have suffered a stroke. The changes we have made recently, and plan to make going forward, have and will continue to improve and sustain the quality of care that our patients receive.”
The Stroke Service at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) sees an average of 10 confirmed stroke patients each week and at Furness General Hospital (FGH) there are around five confirmed stroke patients per week. Both teams see higher numbers of patients with suspected stroke each week and numbers vary.
Patients across the services are continuously asked for their views, and their feedback has helped to bring about many improvements within the Integrated Community Stroke Service at UHMBT. The team covers all hospital stroke services as well as providing care in local communities when patients return home.
One family member described the care their mother received at FGH as “exceptionally seamless”. They also complimented the team and associated colleagues for a “wonderfully personal communication passport full of photos” that the staff used to communicate with their mum as the person that she was, even though she could no longer chat to them herself.
They added: “Thank you to everyone for making our long-distance family members so welcome and sharing in the delight of mum meeting her latest great grandchild for the first time. These are all special memories for us, and we are blessed that the team enabled us to share in them.”
Scott McLean, Chief Operating Officer, UHMBT, said: “The fact that we have achieved two ‘A’ grades for our Stroke services is not only an important quality marker, but also an amazing achievement for everyone at the trust who has worked so hard to get to this point.
“SNAPP is just one of the quality indicators we look at and we still have lots of work to do to ensure we are offering the best possible services to local communities but I am incredibly proud of our team for creating a more effective and compassionate service for our patients.
“Our patients are at the centre of everything we do and our Stroke service demonstrates this perfectly. The changes we have made will enable us to continue to provide an excellent standard of compassionate care to our patients.”