Published: September 2022. Next review: 2027.
The NSW Stroke Ambulance is a mobile referring site of the NSW Telestroke Service (NSW TSS).
The pilot model of care aligns with NSW TSS principles and the Stroke Ambulance is equipped with a:
- multimodal computerised tomography (CT) scanner
- mobile laboratory
- specialised multidisciplinary team.
The Stroke Ambulance aims to improve treatment times, patient outcomes and the speed and accuracy of pre-hospital triage.
Download the NSW Stroke Ambulance pilot model of care (PDF 1.7 MB)
At a glance
- The NSW Stroke Ambulance takes diagnosis and treatment to the patient in the community, delivering care within a time-critical window.
- Improves access to stroke assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with stroke symptoms in the pre-hospital setting.
- Supports health practitioners to deliver evidence-based care for hyperacute stroke.
- If appropriate the patient can receive a multimodal CT and thrombolysis in the ambulance before being transported to the appropriate hospital.
NSW Stroke Ambulance pathway
Key
- EIR - enterprise image repository
- ECR - endovascular clot retrieval
- NSWA - NSW Ambulance
Background
Stroke is a medical emergency requiring rapid access to diagnostic imaging, diagnosis and specialist management.
Around 85% of strokes are due to a blockage in the brain (ischaemic), and 15% are caused by a rupture to the vessel in the brain (haemorrhagic). Brain imaging is required to differentiate between these two types of stroke and support early treatment decisions.
The NSW Stroke Ambulance is equipped with hospital-grade imaging capability and a multidisciplinary team linked to a stroke specialist neurologist. This facilitates early access to diagnosis to initiate time-critical treatment as appropriate.