Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently had the absolute honour of seeing a code stroke demonstration at Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital for World Stroke Day. My electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast is ranked sixth in Australia for both the number of Australians living with stroke and annual stroke cases. Shoalhaven hospital's stroke team, along with their Angels Initiative, do outstanding work in our local hospital to treat patients experiencing a stroke, and it was fascinating to see that work firsthand. Amazingly, Shoalhaven hospital is the first regional hospital in Australia to earn platinum status by the World Stroke Organization—a true testament to the hospital's amazing healthcare staff. For World Stroke Day, I was proud to present the hospital staff with their eighth gold award for outstanding patient care.

Management of stroke requires multidisciplinary teamwork, including participation of ambulance, triage, emergency department, radiology, stroke team and the New South Wales Telestroke Service. A stroke is always a medical emergency and time to treatment is a critical factor affecting outcomes for patients. For every 15 minutes shortened between the onset of stroke symptoms to treatment each year, 380 more Australians will walk out of hospital under their own power, 345 will be able to take care of themselves at home after they leave hospital and 345 will survive their stroke. Thank you to all the amazing healthcare workers on the Shoalhaven stroke team, as well as the Angels Initiative, for the work you do to save lives in our community every day.