HAMPSHIRE Hospitals’ hyper acute stroke unit has been named as one of the best in England and Wales.

The facility at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester came join third in a Stroke Sentinel National Audit Programme (SSNAP) audit.

An overall A grade and score of 89 per cent placed it top in the Wessex region.

The hyper acute stroke unit offers the first stage of stroke treatment across Winchester, Basingstoke and Andover.

Consultant stroke physician Dr Lucy Sykes said “We are extremely proud of this achievement and I would like to say a big thank you to all staff who contributed to this result.

“Providing stroke care to this high standard is a real team effort and every single member of the multidisciplinary team, including doctors, nurses, therapists, housekeeping and ward support staff work tirelessly to achieve it.”

Some 83 per cent of stroke patients were admitted to the unit within four hours despite ongoing pressures on hospital admissions and bed availability. This is 23 per cent better than the national figure.

Meanwhile 100 per cent of eligible patients received potentially life-saving thrombolysis treatment. In addition, 97 per cent of patients were seen by a specialist stroke nurse within 24 hours of admission, well up on the national figure of 88 per cent.

The data also shows that patients are regularly receiving 35-45minutes of specialist stroke rehabilitation from physio, occupational and speech therapies each day.

Dr Sykes added: “We are always looking at ways that we can improve further. Acute care is only one part of the stroke service we offer at Hampshire Hospitals and we are also working hard to ensure that we achieve the same high standards when it comes to longer-term rehabilitation and follow-up after discharge from hospital.”