Issue - meetings

To receive a presentation from Jinty Wilson, North Central London Cardiac and Stroke Network.

The Panel received a presentation from Jinty Wilson, Director of North Central London Cardiac and Stroke Network.

The North Central London Cardiac and Stroke Network (NCLCSN) is part of the National Improvement programme and aims to assist in the implementation of the Nations Stroke Strategy.

NCLCSN covers Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Islington and Camden.

The NCLCSN has links with a wide variety of organisations for example the London Ambulance Service, Voluntary and community groups, commissioners, primary care, local authorities etc.

Eager for Primary Care engagement to ensure that there are local solutions to take forward national policy.

Noted that men between the ages of 40yrs and 74yrs are difficult to reach.

Strokes are more likely to happen whilst a person is sleeping.

The London Ambulance service is engaged with an 8 minute target for reaching possible stroke patients.

The reaction for strokes needs to be faster than that for heart attacks.  Two hours to get a cardiac patient to treatment e.g. angioplasty is good, but there is a need to faster for stroke patients.

For an ischaemic stroke you have a three hour window for effective treatment – therefore the decision as to whether to thrombolyse needs to be taken within 2 hours.

Need to keep the wider Healthcare for London work in mind for this review as the review will need to complement this.

A bidding process is currently taking place for Trusts.  Some are bidding to become Transient Ischaemic Attack Treatment centres and some for Hyper Acute Stroke Unit Status.  The closing date for these applications is 17^th November 2008.

Outcomes for Strokes in London are worse than those outside London.

Vascular Risk Assessments are being implemented by PCTs in early 2009.  These checks are for 40-74yr olds.

Concern that Older People may be slipping off the radar.

Jinty attended a Health Screening event in Brent Cross which was unundated with people.

Points of Discussion

GPs do not necessarily know where the TIA clinics are, the information is not readily available and it is therefore not clear where they can send patients.  Having TIA clinics on Choose and Book would help GPs considerably.