Telemedicine improves stroke care

Stroke unit staff at Watford General Hospital have launched a telemedicine link-up that enables patients who arrive in A and E out of normal working hours to receive expert assessment via video link. The Telestroke initiative, set up across the East of England region, allows physicians appointed on a rota basis to advise on how to treat patients in the crucial first few hours after a stroke. This includes the use of clot-busting drugs through thrombolysis. Consultant, Dr David Collas, said: "This approach ensures that West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust can not only continue to treat potential stroke patients quickly and efficiently, but when skilled stroke unit consultants are unavailable, we can depend on the expertise of physicians from other parts of the country."