Stroke services for patients and their carers in South Gloucestershire have been rated as one of the best performing in England by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
In 2010, the Care Quality Commission completed a comprehensive review of stroke services across England. The review looked at the services commissioned by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and local authorities across the entire stroke pathway. This included consideration of services provided at the onset of stroke in the acute sector, during rehabilitation and “life after stroke” services that are available in the community. The review also considered the support offered to the carers of people with a stroke and sought their views on the information that they were provided with.
Following this review, South Gloucestershire was rated as one of the “best performing” areas in the country. The review looked at 15 aspects of stroke care.
South Gloucestershire achieved the highest rating for tailoring services to meet individual’s needs and was ranked second highest on:
- Managing patients transfer home from hospital runs smoothly
- Helping people to avoid having another stroke through monitoring checks by GPs and by giving advice
- Helping people stay healthy a year after stroke and keeping them out of hospital
- Providing compassionate end of life care for people who do not survive a stroke
- Involving stroke survivors and in planning and developing services
- The range of information provided to stroke survivors and their carers.
Penny Harris, Chief Executive of NHS South Gloucestershire said: “Stroke can be a devastating and life changing event for people. By ensuring that services are built around the individual and that their care is planned to take account of their needs, circumstances and preferences, and those of their carers and families, the patient’s recovery from, and coping with the effects of stroke, is vastly improved.”
“We are extremely pleased that South Gloucestershire’s stroke care services have been rated as best performing by the Care Quality Commission and it is a testament to all the hard work by staff on the ground – our GPs, council colleagues and the intermediate care team. There is, of course, still room for improvement and we will be working with all our local partners to further develop our services in the future.”
Cllr Matthew Riddle, South Gloucestershire Council’s executive member for community care and housing, said: “This very positive independent assessment of support available in South Gloucestershire reflects that stroke survivors and their carers have been at the very heart of developing innovative services that meet local needs and have enabled many stroke survivors to rebuild their lives following the devastating impact of stroke.”
“The innovative services we have commissioned locally have focused on enabling people to have a life after stroke, regain skills and confidence and to have control over how they live their life.”
Source: NHS South Gloucestershire
