The organisational audit measures the structure of both acute and post-acute stroke services. It assesses services against standards and evidence from sources including the National Clinical Guideline for Stroke (2023) the National Stroke Service Model description of an Integrated Community Stroke Service (ICSS), and the 2016 NICE Quality Standards. Data is collected using a webtool based proforma accessible via the internet. High data quality is ensured through the use of built in validations which prevent illogical data being entered. Services enter data describing their service on a specific date (for the May audit this was 1 May 2025) and are given 5 weeks to enter and check data, after which period no changes are permitted. Lead clinicians are responsible for checking and signing off on the accuracy and completeness of the data submitted. Participating sites are measured against specific criteria for key indicators depending on their service type. These key indicators were identified using the domains and key indicators from the 2021 audit, as well as recent research and evidence.
There are 12 key indicators for post-acute inpatient services. There are a total of 16 key indicators for post-acute services, however key indicators 8, 9, 10 and 15 are not applicable for post-acute inpatient services.
There are 15 key indicators for post-acute community rehabilitation services. There are a total of 16 key indicators for post-acute services, however key indicator 7 is not applicable for post-acute community rehabilitation services.
Post acute key indicators 3, 4, 5, 6 and 12 have been updated since 2021. Post acute key indicators 13, 14, 15, and 16 are new key indicators at a team level.
Data is reported for every data item from the audit at national and provider level. The national median for each measure is given to enable benchmarking. National results are presented as percentages, provider variation is summarised by median and inter-quartile ranges (IQR). For acute sites:
Ratios of staffing numbers per 10 stroke unit beds (per 30 stroke unit beds for psychology) are given rather than staffing numbers per stroke unit, so as to allow direct comparison with national standards and other sites. To calculate numbers per 10 beds the whole-time equivalents (WTE) for each staffing discipline in a service is divided by the total number of beds used by stroke patients, then multiplied by 10. The same rule applied for staff numbers per 30 beds, but multiplied by 30.
To represent the care available to patients at sites which do not treat patients in the first 72 hours after their stroke, these sites are assigned the results of the site which provided this care from relevant sections. This applies to both the key indicator section and the full results section.
For post-acute inpatient services:
Ratios of staffing numbers per 5 stroke beds are given rather than staffing numbers per provider, so as to allow direct comparison with national standards and other sites. To calculate staffing numbers per 5 beds, the whole-time equivalent (WTE) for each staffing discipline in a service is divided by the total number of beds used by stroke patients then multiplied by 5.
For community (non-bed-based) services:
Ratios of staffing numbers per 100 patients are given rather than staffing numbers per provider, so as to allow direct comparison with national standards and other sites. To calculate staffing numbers per 100 patients, the whole-time equivalent (WTE) for each staffing discipline in a service is divided by the total number of patients then multiplied by 100.
Find us
Sentinel Stroke National Audit ProgrammeKings College LondonAddison HouseGuy's CampusLondonSE1 1UL
Support
0116 464 9901ssnap@kcl.ac.uk
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