1 Government Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala
The Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, also known as Trivandrum Medical College, is located in the capital of Kerala. Founded in 1951, it was dedicated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and is Kerala’s oldest medical college.
The Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) continues to be a leader in the field of neurosciences, providing quality healthcare, teaching, and conducting cutting-edge research. Its department of neurology shaped the current face of neurology and what it stands for today.
Since 2018, the doctors and nurses from various departments have engaged with the Angels Academy to complete nearly all the available courses and training programmes. The hospital also participated in a masterclass and simulation workshop conducted by Angels consultants.
GMCH was the first public sector hospital to implement thrombolysis in acute stroke care. It has provided cost-free treatment to an underprivileged society.
The stroke unit works around the clock with a well-equipped team led by an on-call neurologist for acute ischemic stroke patients.
Key highlights
- The Angels Initiative partnered with GMCH to pursue a common goal of optimising stroke care. The partnership focused on enhancing the expertise and confidence of doctors and nurses when administering r-TPA.
- Improvements in door-to-needle and door-to-CT/MRI times have been recorded over the past several years. The hospital enrolled with the RES-Q registry in May 2019, and achieved stroke-ready status in June 2019.
- In this busy government facility, optimising stroke care remains a big challenge. The department of neurology continuously strives to reduce disability among stroke survivors by providing an improved standard of care to the Thiruvananthapuram region.
Outcomes/Impact
The department of neurology admits more than 1,000 patients with stroke annually. These are some of its achievements since 2018:
- Between March 2018 and July 2021, the average thrombosis rate increased from 11% to 16%.
- Average door-to-treatment time (DTT) has been significantly reduced from 85 minutes to 60 minutes. DTT is 45 minutes for more than 25% of ischemic stroke patients, well below the recommended 60 minutes.
- Average door-to-CT time was reduced to less than 25 minutes in 2020, an improvement of 28%.
- 35 ICU nurses completed the stroke nurse certification course.
- Trivandrum Medical College Hospital achieved WSO Angels Awards Diamond Status in Q2 of 2021, the result of continuous quality monitoring and the leadership of head of neurology, Dr Thomas Iype, Dr Dileep Ramachandran, and other professors and neurology residents
2 T.D. Medical College Hospital Alappuzha, Kerala
T.D. Medical College Hospital is situated in Vandanam town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala State, South India. The medical college was founded in 1963 under the patronage of the Thirumala Devaswom Temple at Alappuzha.
In 2010, the Medical College Hospital was moved from Alappuzha to Vandanam, with the help of the state government. This marked a red-letter day in the history of the hospital.
The department of neurology has conducted various community-oriented programmes including stroke awareness programmes for the public and faculties, and a medical camp for cerebral palsy patients.
The hospital has good infrastructure, is well-equipped and has a well-established, dedicated Stroke ICU. The neurology department offers inpatient care, 24-hour neurology casualty care, and round-the-clock emergency care to stroke patients, in addition to stroke ICU management and Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound tests to detect stroke.
Key highlights
- The Angels Initiative partnered with T.D. Medical College Hospital to pursue a common goal of optimising stroke care. The partnership focused on enhancing the expertise and confidence of doctors and nurses when administering r-TPA.
- Improvements in treatments rates, door-to-treatment and door-to-imaging times lead to the hospital achieving stroke-ready status in 2019. It enrolled with the RES-Q registry in February 2019.
- In this busy government hospital, the neurology department continues to strive to reduce disability among stroke survivors by providing an improved standard of care to the Alappuzha region.
Outcomes/Impact
The department of neurology admits more than 800 patients with stroke annually. These are some of its achievements:
- Between March 2018 and March 2020, the average thrombolysis rate increased from 10% to 18.75%.
- Between 2018 and 2021, the average door-to-treatment time (DTT) significantly reduced from 75 minutes to 55 minutes. DTT is 45 minutes for more than 25% of ischemic stroke patients, well below the recommended 60 minutes.
- The average door-to-imaging time was reduced to less than 30 minutes in 2020, an improvement of 25%.
- With continuous quality monitoring, the hospital achieved their first WSO Angels Award Gold Status in Q1 2021 and received a platinum award in Q4 2021.
3 Narayana Hrudayala - Mazumdar Shaw Health City
Narayana Health City in Bommasandra, Bengaluru, was established with the vision to make high-end quality healthcare, including tertiary care facilities, affordable and accessible to all. The brainchild of its founder and chairman, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre is a NABH-accredited tertiary care hospital inside NH Health City, Bommasandra Industrial Area, Bangalore, India.
The stroke champion of NH Health City is Dr Vikram Huded, an interventional neurologist who is also head of the neurology department, and a fellow of the World Stroke Organization. The hospital offers high-end technological infrastructure with high-quality equipment and a patient-friendly environment. An expert team of neurologists and neurosurgeons work together with a compassionate nursing staff to provide patients with accurate diagnosis and medical care The neurology department offers inpatient care, 24*7 CT/MRI, neurology emergency care, and a well-organised stroke unit.
Key highlights
- The Angels Initiative partnered with Narayana Hrudayala – Mazumdar Shaw Health City in 2017, with a common goal of providing excellent stroke care to patients in the region.
- Training and simulations were conducted every year to maintain high standards in the delivery of quality stroke care.
- Maintaining the stroke bag and stroke checklist of every department is always in check.
- Weekly training and evaluation are done by the hospital training authority.
Outcomes
- The hospital receives approximately 600 patients per year.
- It has witnessed gradual development in door-to-needle and door-to-groin times, and in the recanalisation rate.
- The hospital maintains its own software to monitor the quality of stroke care.
