Acute Stroke Unit

Stroke services

We specialise in the early diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of people who have had a stroke.

We have 24/7 stroke specialist nurse cover (called the Brain Attack Team) for patients who are admitted to hospital in an emergency. We aim to meet our patients when they arrive at the Emergency Department in order to give the best possible outcome.

Some patients will need a brain scan, ‘clot busting drugs’ (thrombolysis) or ‘clot retrieval surgery’ (thrombectomy).

When patients are stabilised they are transferred to the The Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU) or The Acute Stroke Unit (ASU) for assessment and early rehabilitation by our specialist nursing and therapy teams.

Our specialist stroke teams are made up of different staff members including:

• Consultants and doctors
• Nurses
• Allied health professionals (e.g. physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietitians).
• Our stroke teams are trained to support people following a stroke. Not all patients will need to see all specialists and different staff may be involved at different stages of a person’s stay in hospital.

Stroke patients who need longer-term rehabilitation may be transferred to the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit (SRU).

Our stroke service team aims to provide expert care in line with nationally agreed stroke standards.