Australian stroke patients are missing out on timely and potentially life-saving care, according to an alarming new report.
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A Stroke Foundation audit of about 100 acute hospital services found Australia is falling well below international standards and not meeting national benchmark treatment times.
Timely treatment for stroke is vital to give patients the best possible chance of avoiding death or disability.
The audit found only 29 per cent of Australian hospitals gave eligible stroke patients clot-busting drugs within the target time of 60 minutes.
By comparison, the USA and UK both achieved rates above 60 per cent.
Stroke Foundation chief executive Lisa Murphy described the findings as concerning.
"Australia aims to deliver some of the best acute stroke care in the world, but what these results show us is that we can do better," Dr Murphy said.
"We do not want Australians slipping through the gaps in stroke care."
The audit found the average time from stroke onset to arrival in the emergency department was four hours and 24 minutes. This is six minutes longer than average times in 2021 and significantly longer than the 2019 pre-COVID average of three hours and 36 minutes.
It also found almost 30 percent of patients were first admitted to a general medical ward, rather than an acute stroke unit.
Key Findings:
- Access to stroke unit care has remained almost unchanged (72 per cent in 2023, as opposed to 73 per cent in 2021)
- Only 48 per cent of patients received 90 per cent or more of their acute care in a stroke unit, as opposed to 54 per cent in 2021
- Only 38 per cent of all patients with acute stroke reached hospital within the critical 4.5-hour time window
- 28 per cent of patients were not given advice on lifestyle and other modifiable risk factors to avoid another stroke
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