Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital Emergency Department nurses, Sarah, Sara, Barbara, and Danielle. Integral team members in the Time is Brain achievement.

THE Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital team has been recognised for their exceptional stroke care, winning the ‘Time is Brain’ Award from the NSW Telestroke Service.

The award highlights the team’s dedication to providing critical and timely stroke treatment after exceeding national targets for restoring blood flow to the brain in a stroke patient.

Chris Boothroyd, Clinical Nurse Consultant in Emergency at Blue Mountains Hospital attributes the achievement to the dedication and collaboration of the entire team.

“Our small team works tirelessly to support each other and deliver high quality patient care. This award recognises every person’s role in the process, which are all vitally important – this includes nurses, doctors, wards people, radiographers and all additional support staff,” says Chris.

As a Telestroke referral site, Blue Mountains Hospital provides the community with access to life saving stroke treatments despite being a long way from large tertiary treatment centres.

“Without oxygen to the brain, up to 1.9 million neurons per minute die so it is imperative that we identify signs of stroke early so treatment can start,” says Chris.

The team provided treatment in a stroke patient with a door-to-needle time of 47 minutes.

“We conduct all patient consults and treatment via a telehealth model of care. This brings Stroke Neurologists to the bedside of patients in our emergency departments. We are also very lucky to have 24/7 support from the NSW Telestroke Service,” says Chris.

Chris said it’s a joint effort where communication and education is paramount.

“The key to managing any time urgent condition is regular education and promotion of what ‘early recognition and referral’ looks like. Thereafter, the deciding factor of good outcomes is communication, communication, communication,” says Chris.

The NSW Telestroke Service connects regional and remote hospitals with a stroke specialist neurologist via video conferencing technology. The service is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a team of Stroke Fellowship trained Neurologists located across NSW. This vital service has significantly improved stroke outcomes across the state.