Better patient care as Oxford stroke centre offers life-changing treatment 24 hours a day
25/01/2024
The Stroke Unit at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) is now providing life-changing mechanical thrombectomy treatment around the clock.
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) - removing a blockage in a large blood vessel in the brain - can reduce disability and prevent or limit long-term care needs following a stroke. Last year the Oxford stroke unit became among the first in the country to hit the NHS Long Term Plan target for this treatment. Now it is offering MT 24 hours a day for the first time.
Effective use of MT requires rapid transfer of acute stroke patients to regional centres with specialist teams. The OUH stroke unit is at the centre of a regional integrated stroke delivery network and the wider Thrombectomy Innovation and Transformation Network (TITaN) connecting hospitals in Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Reading, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Swindon which has overseen a five-fold increase in MTs in the last three years.
Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), said: "I would like to congratulate our clinical teams for making mechanical thrombectomy available 24/7 in our stroke unit. This is excellent news for patients and demonstrates that we are leading the way nationally for stroke care here in Oxford, at the heart of a strong regional network of hospitals."
Dr Phil Mathieson, clinical lead for stroke at OUH, said: "We are delighted we are now able to provide thrombectomy 24 hours a day. Increasing access to this time-sensitive procedure is benefiting more patients, changing lives and reducing disability. There are additional gains for the wider health and care system by reducing demand on rehabilitation and community services."
Dr Andrew Brent, Chief Medical Officer at OUH, said: "The mechanical thrombectomy service builds on the great care that the OUH stroke team and our partners already deliver for patients in the region, and the important contributions that Oxford researchers continue to make to improving treatments and outcomes for stroke. I would like to thank the wide range of specialists within the multidisciplinary team without whose collaboration and contribution this would not be possible."
Dr David Hargroves, Co-Chair of the National Thrombectomy Implementation group, National Speciality Adviser for Stroke and Mechanical Thrombectomy lead for NHS England, said: "The fantastic work of the stroke and interventional neuroradiology team at Oxford, and the wider TITaN network, demonstrates the power of a networked approach to complex medical interventions.
"The whole multidisciplinary team across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Stroke Delivery Network should be congratulated for their phenomenal effort in delivering mechanical thrombectomy 24/7, reducing the burden of disability for many people."
Professor Gary Ford, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley and a stroke consultant at OUH, said: "Our support in developing the TITaN network and adopting artificial intelligence tools to identify and rapidly transfer brain scans has helped put our region among the leaders in delivering this life-changing treatment."
Pictured left to right:
- Juliet Anyanwu Nneka, Anaesthetic Assistant
- Viccy Young, Interventional Neuroradiologist
- Birte Feix, Consultant Anaesthetist
- Phil Mathieson, Stroke Consultant
- Taija Neonen, Neuroradiology Sister
- James Beale, Advanced Care Practitioner in Stroke
- Giacomo Galuppi, Senior Radiographer
- Manjushree Hegde, Advanced Care Practitioner in Stroke