Thomas Hirst
Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS)
Project Background:
- Approximately 7,400 patients suffer a stroke per year in Wales
- Early medical management focuses on restoring blood flow to the brain
- Treatment is traditionally delivered in hospital following CT scanning
- Early thrombolysis treatment (within 90 minutes) can significantly reduce disability in stroke survivors
- Advances in technology have seen mobile stroke units (MSUs) able to perform CT scan and treat outside the hospital setting
Project Aims:
- To develop a simulation model for acute stroke care in Wales
- To evaluate the effect of mobile stroke units on delivery of acute stroke treatments in Wales
- To develop a strategic proposal for a clinical trial of a mobile stroke unit in Wales
Project Outcomes:
The operation of an MSU was modelled:
- From 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023
- From 9 distinct sites across Wales
- For patients receiving thrombolysis therapy
Project Impact:
- The simulated MSU attended between 1,120 and 1895 stroke calls per year, and 167-284 strokes
- The median and mean times to thrombolysis were typically 2 hours faster compared to baseline
- No patients received thrombolysis in the baseline simulations, while in the MSU scenarios this was 6-18%
View the project poster and slides from the Cohort 8 Bevan Exemplar Showcase
