POTENTIAL stroke patients in Somerset and Dorset will soon be first triaged via video links.

A new video triage system is being rolled out in the coming weeks, aimed at transforming stroke care in the two counties.

Pre-Hospital Video Triage (PVT) enables ambulance clinicians to speak via video link to stroke specialists in a hospital, helping decide which hospital would provide the best care for the patient.

The system has already been rolled out at Dorset County Hospital, in Dorchester, and at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, alongside new dedicated stoke units – changes which have proved controversial.

There will also be a new improved acute stroke unit at Yeovil District Hospital with enhanced rehabilitation facilities, offering patients the chance to continue their recovery closer to home, once they’ve had their initial emergency care.

And NHS chiefs said enabling hospital clinicians to see the patient via video link means that tests to confirm a stroke, including CT and MRI scans, can be prepared for their arrival, reducing the time to make a diagnosis.

Initial trials of PVT in Dorset found it to be successful in getting patients to the right place first time – whether that be a specialist stroke unit or a hospital’s emergency department, they said.

In some cases, joint discussion on the video call enabled a potential stroke to be ruled out, enabling patients to remain at home.

“We all know that getting timely treatment, and importantly in the right place, is in the best interest of a stroke patient and this system helps us to make that judgement much quicker,” said Dr Bernie Marden, chief medical officer for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, NHS Dorset and NHS Somerset Integrated Care Boards.

Chris Turner, assistant director of operations for Somerset at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, said: “For our ambulance clinicians, this level of instant expert advice via a video link could speed recovery and help save lives.

“It will also help us to determine the right place to take our patients, ensuring we’re providing the best possible care in the critical time period following a stroke.”

The project has the strong support of the national Stroke Association which, in a recent report, said such technology could “transform stroke care and boost survival rates”.

The Stroke Association has said that innovations like PVT need to be extended “to ensure that every stroke survivor benefits from the incredible medical and digital advances we now have”.

Dr Marden added: “Introducing the PVT project is part of a wider plan to reorganise and improve stroke care throughout Somerset. We are committed to finding the best solution for all stroke patients in Somerset.”

The phased roll out of PVT follows the controversial centralisation of emergency stroke care in Somerset and Dorset, which created two 24/7 Hyper Acute Stroke Units which will open tomorrow (September 9), aiming to provide faster access to treatment – reducing the risk of disability following a stroke.

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