Pretoria - Steve Biko Academic Hospital has became the first health facility in South Africa to receive the World Stroke Organization Angels Diamond Award for excellence in related care.
This is the first international award of its kind awarded to any South African hospital, in the private or public sector.
The awards recognise hospitals that provide excellent stroke care and encourage hospitals to implement quality monitoring in order to improve performance. Criteria were based on international guidelines for treating acute stroke.
Hospitals were eligible for gold, platinum or diamond awards, with diamond representing the highest level of performance.
Chief executive at Steve Biko Hospital, Dr Mathabo Mathebula, said it was a great honour.
“This achievement has been a milestone in our journey and is a reflection of the relentless work our doctors have been doing to provide the best care to our patients at an international standard.
“We are committed to improving outcomes of stroke by ensuring that every patient admitted into our facility gets access to stroke care that will optimise their survival and recovery,” Mathebula said.
The neurology department at the hospital started engaging with the Angels’ Initiative at the end of 2021.
In a short period, the team introduced new measures and conducted training and simulations to streamline the acute management of stroke patients at the hospital.
The hospital’s average door-to-needle time, which is the time the stroke patient arrives at its emergency unit to initiation of Therapy 1, was now 15 minutes.
Head of neurology at Steve Biko Hospital, Professor Mandisa Kakaza, said it was crucial that the hospital had the right diagnostic equipment and well-trained staff to offer appropriate care and treatment without delay.
“Our team aims to deliver continuous enhancements, and therefore we have implemented training and aligned with international standards to ensure better care and support to reduce the burden of stroke that affects our communities,” Kakaza said.
Jan van der Merwe, co-founder and project lead for the Angels’ Initiative, which identifies hospitals for the awards, said eight years ago when they started, South Africa only had a handful of hospitals that could be considered “stroke-ready”.
“Today, we have more than 170. The improvement in stroke care in South Africa is a story that has inspired other countries worldwide to improve their stroke care in ways they never thought possible.
“I have to admit that at first even I did not believe that world-class stroke care was possible in a government hospital in South Africa.
“Long waiting lines in the emergency unit, staff shortages and hospitals being overwhelmed with Covid, were all given as valid reasons for why this should not be possible.
“What I have learnt through implementing the Angels’ Initiative in countries across the world, though, is that if you find exceptional people that are driven by a purpose like, Dr Louis Kroon, and you come in alongside them and provide them with support where needed, miracles can happen.
“I know that this will not be the last award that Dr Kroon and his amazing stroke team at Steve Biko Academic Hospital will achieve. What I am interested in is to see how many other hospitals in South Africa will follow in their footsteps,” Van der Merwe said.
Pretoria News