Bankstown hospital cuts stroke diagnosis from 39 minutes to 10 with new trial

Timing is critical in acute stroke emergencies and a pilot trial is aiming to speed up diagnosis and treatment — with staggering results. Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has cut the average time of getting a stroke patient into a CT scan from 39 minutes to 10.

Director of emergency at Bankstown hospital Dr Matt Smith and stroke patient Allen Charters. Picture: Keri Megelus

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Timing is critical in acute stroke emergencies and a pilot trial is aiming to speed up diagnosis and treatment — with staggering results.

Since July, Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has cut the average time of getting a stroke patient into a CT scan from 39 minutes to 10.

The Bankstown Expedited Acute Stroke Treatment (BEAST), is the first streamlined protocol that brings together paramedics, emergency department, stroke specialists, radiology and pathology.

Bankstown hospital staff have helped Allen Charters, 91, on a path to recovery with a new trial that aims to get stroke patients diagnosed and treated much quicker. Picture: Keri Megelus

At Bankstown, suspected stroke patients are taken straight to the CT scan, instead of emergency, so it can be determined if they are suitable for treatment.

The quickest door to treatment the hospital has managed is an incredible 49 minutes.

The hospital’s director of emergency medicine, Dr Matt Smith and Dr Fintan O’Rouke, Bankstown Hospital’s stroke leader, have also set up a dedicated runner whose job is take the bloods immediately to the pathology department.

They are also working with NSW Ambulance to have paramedics take blood from patients on route so the samples are ready for testing as soon as the patient arrives.

Dr Smith said the trial is working extremely well for stroke emergencies where “time is brain”.

“Every 15 minute delay in treating an acute stroke patient means there is a higher chance of permanent disability for the patient,” he said.

Director of emergency at Bankstown Hospital, Dr Matt Smith. Picture: Keri Megelus

The program has already helped about 20 people — including Punchbowl resident Allen Charters, 91, a West Tigers stalwart who was at home when he suffered a stroke.

“I was in the kitchen making a cup of tea for my wife and then, bang,” he said. “I was very lucky — I had a blood clot on my brain.”

For Mr Charters the trial has meant overcoming paralysis on his left side and being able to speak again.

He’s now on the path to a full recovery after being taken to Liverpool Hospital for an endovascular clot retrieval.

“I’ve been looked after by angels,” Mr Charters said.

Dr Smith said timely diagnosis and treatment are the most important factors when it came to recovery after a stroke, a message the Stroke Foundation sent out last week during National Stroke Week.