Indicators for hospitals' treatment of stroke patients have improved and in some cases the national targets are being exceeded.
About 9000 people have a stroke in New Zealand each year, the Ministry of Health says. Photo: 123rf
In the second half of last year, 7.9 percent of eligible patients received thrombolytic therapy, which dissolves blood clots, up from 7 percent in the previous six months and above the national target of 6 percent.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said not all DHBs had round-the-clock stroke thrombolysis because it required specialist level care.
He said Capital & Coast DHB had put in place a service to help support smaller DHBs in delivering the treatment. "This involves neurologists in Wellington assisting colleagues in four regional hospitals by providing remote assessment, diagnosis and treatment."
Dr Coleman said a six month trial from June last year resulted in 164 patient assessments carried out by Wellington-based neurologists and about 25 percent received clot-busting medicines.
Admissions to acute stroke units had also risen to 77 percent, a 4 percent increase from the previous six month period.
The 80 percent national target was also achieved or exceeded by 12 of the 20 DHBs.
The Ministry of Health also conducted a six-month endovascular trial, which extracted particularly large blood clots, and said it had benefited about 90 people.
The Stroke Foundation CEO Mark Vivian said recovery after the treatment could be quite astonishing, and he hoped it would be used more widely in the future.
Mr Vivian said overall the improvement in statistics is fantastic news.
He said it had taken a lot of really hard and focused work from a number of clinicians not only medics but also nurses and allied health to get the results.
About 9000 people have a stroke in New Zealand each year, the Ministry of Health says.
