Speedy stroke team faster to PASTA

Salford Royal’s Acute Research Delivery Team was the first to recruit a participant into the stroke trial PASTA in the North West.

The patient was recruited on 17 August by Jane Perez and Mary Howard-Johnes and has since been followed by several more – in fact Jane went on to recruit five more patients in a single day! Sarah Heathcote, who is an Advanced Practitioner, is Salford Royal’s Principal Investigator for the study.

Paramedic Acute Stroke Treatment Assessment (PASTA) pathway branding

The clinical trial aims to determine whether a Paramedic Acute Stroke Treatment Assessment (PASTA) pathway can speed up access to emergency stroke treatments, especially thrombolysis treatment, and so improve recovery after stroke.  Participants receive either usual emergency stroke care or the additional PASTA pathway. The PASTA paramedics have been trained to perform additional information collection and communication which might help with the first stages of patient care in the hospital. The study, sponsored by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will run for three years in North East England, North West England and Wales and aims to recruit 3,640 participants.

Sarah said: “We are really pleased to be involved in this study, as it is improving the patient journey from first contact rather than arrival to hospital, which will potentially improve treatment and recovery.”

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