In the UK the prevalence of stroke among the population is set to increase, with some forecasts putting this between 40-60% from 2021 to 2030. This increase will not only put pressure on hospitals but also on all of society.
The Hyperacute stroke setting is an extremely time critical. The quicker treatment can be delivered the better a patient’s outcome. In the Acute setting, therapy takes centre stage in rehabilitating patients, with the initial few weeks being the most impactful for the patient’s recovery.
Post stroke, patients can suffer with extreme changes to their function and wellbeing. The more severe the post stroke disability the more intensive and expensive care is needed.
The aim of this project is to develop a discrete simulation model to observe the potential effects of differing variables (such as staffing / operating hours of pathways and services) within the Hyperacute / Acute stroke pathway have on the following :
- Patient flow and medical outcomes of those patients
- Direct costs and savings made to the stroke unit itself
- The health economic costs / benefits associated with any change
“NHS 10-year plan shifts: Sickness to Prevention”: modelling staffing and operating hours in the time-critical hyperacute stroke pathway, where faster treatment directly improves long-term patient outcomes and reduces the need for intensive ongoing care - so not preventing the strokes, but preventing bad outcomes through adequate resourcing that allows timely access to the right people and treatments.