Stroke Medicine at the Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences based at Salford Royal is one of the busiest

stroke centres in the NHS, and is one of three HASU’s (Hyper Acute Stroke Units) in Greater Manchester, the

others being Fairfield and Stepping Hill hospitals.

Stroke care in Greater Manchester is organised on a city –wide basis with all acute stroke care (people presenting

within the first 48 hours after onset of symptoms) provided at one of our three HASU’s.

Salford Royal is the largest of the three, and provides a full range of stroke services for people across the city.

Salford also hosts the Greater Manchester Stroke Operational Delivery Network which is a partnership of stroke

care providers across the region, providing coordination of services, training, collaborative working and

improvement of standards of care throughout the stroke care journey, from acute care through to rehabilitation

and life after stroke.

People admitted acutely with stroke are reviewed urgently by the stroke team in the A&E department, and

admitted as quickly as possible to one of the HASU wards.

Some people may be suitable for clot busting treatment with thrombolysis, others may be more suitable for

direct clot removal (thrombectomy) and people with acute intracerebral haemorrhage may need acute

management of high blood pressure and reversal of any anticoagulant drugs.

There is a full range of diagnostic tools available, including brain scanning with CT or MR, specialist scans of the

blood vessels supplying the brain, and other specialist tests to determine the cause of stroke.

The care people receive after stroke is measured by the national stroke audit, SSNAP, which collects anonymised

data on everyone admitted with acute stroke, and compares performance in Salford Royal and other centres in

Greater Manchester with those in the rest of the NHS.

All of this data is publicly available on the Stroke Audit website together with the national guidelines that we use to guide care.

People with acute stroke are admitted to Salford Royal from all over Greater Manchester and usually spend up to

72 hours on the HASU wards before either being discharged directly home, or being transferred back to their

local hospital for stroke rehabilitation.

People who are residents of Salford may be transferred to the Stroke Rehabilitation Unit at Salford Royal.

The stroke team is a dedicated team of stroke physicians, stroke neurologists, neuroradiologists, vascular

neurosurgeons, specialist nurses (including a Consultant Nurse and Advanced Practitioners), ward nursing staff,

physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and orthoptists who

work together to provide the best possible care for people with stroke.

Research is vital to ensure that we are constantly improving the care we offer to people with stroke.

We have a dedicated stroke research team, and very strong academic links with the University of Manchester.

We work very closely with the Stroke Association who provide support for people with stroke and their families

on the wards and during and after community rehabilitation.

We have worked with the Stroke Association in an innovative arts project to help people adjust to life after

stroke

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Salford Royal Hospital is part of the University of Manchester Medical School and makes a significant

contribution to medical student teaching.