Local state hospital receives international recognition for excellent stroke care

A Pretoria state hospital has won the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) Angels’ diamond award for excellence in stroke care.

The first international award of its kind to be awarded to a South African hospital, both in the private and public sector.

Steve Biko academic hospital has been given this prestigious honour for its work in acute stroke care.

The neurology department at Steve Biko started engaging with the Angels at the end of 2021.

In a short period of time, the team introduced new measures and conducted several training and simulations to streamline the acute management of stroke patients at the hospital. The hospital’s average door-to-needle time, which is the time when the stroke patient arrives to the start of therapy, is 15 minutes.

CEO of Steve Biko hospital Dr Mathabo Mathebula said it is a great privilege to be awarded the diamond status for stroke management.

“This achievement is a milestone in our journey and a reflection of the relentless work our doctors have been doing to provide the best care to our patients at an international standard.

“We are committed to improving outcomes of stroke by ensuring that every patient admitted into our facility gets access to stroke care that will optimise their survival and recovery,” Mathebula said.

It is a unique healthcare initiative that helps hospitals around the world become ‘stroke-ready’ so that patients who have just suffered a stroke can be treated as quickly and effectively as possible.

The initiative seeks to greatly reduce the burden of stroke for countless patients by working closely with hospitals to build a network of stroke-ready hospitals worldwide, reduce treatment delays and provide patients with the best care.

The Angels awards were created to recognise hospitals that provide excellent stroke care, and encourage hospitals to implement quality monitoring to improve performance.

The awards criteria are based on international guidelines for treating acute stroke. Hospitals are eligible for gold, platinum, or diamond awards, with diamond representing the highest level of performance.

Head of neurology at Steve Biko, Prof Mandisa Kakaze said it is crucial that the hospital has the right diagnostic equipment and well-trained staff to offer appropriate care and treatment without any delay.

“Our team aims to deliver continuous enhancements, and therefore, we have implemented training aligned with international standards to ensure better care and support to reduce the burden of stroke that affects our communities,” he said.

Eight years ago when the Angels initiative started, South Africa only had a handful of hospitals that could be considered ‘stroke-ready’.

“Today, we have more than 170 hospitals. The improvement in stroke care in South Africa is a story that has inspired other countries across the world to improve their own stroke care in ways they never thought possible,” said co-founder and project leader of the initiative, Jan van der Merwe.

Van der Merwe added that at first he did not “believe that world-class stroke care was possible in a government hospital in South Africa”.

“Long waiting lines at the emergency department, staff shortages and hospitals being overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases, were all given as valid reasons for why this should not be possible,” he said.

“What I have learned through implementing the Angels initiative in countries across the world, though, is that if you find exceptional people that are driven by a purpose like Dr Louis Kroon (neurologist) anything is possible.

“I know that this will not be the last award that Kroon and his amazing stroke team at Steve Biko academic hospital will achieve; I am interested to see how many other hospitals in South Africa will follow in their footsteps,” Van der Merwe said.

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