There’s plenty to smile about at PA Hospital’s Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU), where the team are celebrating after completing their 1,000th ECR (Endovascular Clot Retrieval) case on 26 July.
“ECR is an acute stroke treatment performed by our Interventional Neuroradiologists to rapidly restore blood flow to the brain in situations where there has been a blood vessel blockage, often due to an embolus (blood clot travelling to the brain blood vessel),” explained Neuroradiologist Dr Kendal Redmond.
The HASU team has come a long way since their first ECR case in 2016. Eight years on, HASU A/CNC Riley Clarke says the success of the multidisciplinary team is written in their collective passion for improving patient outcomes in the critical first hour.
“When someone has a stroke, they’re losing millions of neurons by the minute. The faster we can get someone to hospital and give them acute stroke treatment, the more neurons we can save, which ultimately means better outcomes,” she said.
“We have an incredible team of dedicated Doctors, Nurses, Physios, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists, Dietitians and Social Workers who are all very passionate about giving our patients the best treatment.
“Everyone's working together with the one goal that is the best outcome for these patients and their families in a really difficult time. They all have a significant impact on those peoples’ lives, so it's very special to be part of.”
With awareness top of mind this Stroke Week, Riley says things move FAST when it comes to treatment.
“Stroke Week this year is all about looking at your loved ones and knowing how to recognise the signs of stroke. The F.A.S.T acronym (Face, Arms, Speech and Time) helps raise awareness about what stroke is and how we can prevent it. It’s really important to get that information out there, and I’m excited to be in this role during Stroke Week,” said Riley.
Thanks for all your great work, team!