Stroke Unit Availability

This Blog Post was originally published on adagia.org.

Yesterday I was doing a paramedic day shift again. Our first mission brought us to a doctor whose patient had typical signs of a stroke.

The nearest stroke unit is currently closed because of missing personnel due to many COVID19 positive nurses and doctors. So the doctor told us to drive to the nearest hospital without a stroke unit. I asked him why and if it wouldn't be better to drive to a hospital with a stroke unit.

He was a little astound and asked if it would be possible to drive to a hospital farther away. Of course, it is, just because the nearest specialised hospital isn't available, that doesn't mean we can't drive to one which is further away. It just takes longer.

The patient needs to get the best treatment, not the one that's closest.