The post-acute organisational audit provides a 'snapshot’ of the structure and organisation of post-acute stroke services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It includes data on staffing levels, access to timely multidisciplinary care and 7-day working. The audit has been run twice, the first in 2015 and the second in 2021.

The aims of the 2021 SSNAP post-acute organisational audit were:

1. To establish a baseline of current service organisation nationally to compare with processes of care (as assessed in the SSNAP clinical audit ) and to monitor changes over time.
2. To enable providers to benchmark the quality of the components of their service nationally and regionally.
3. To provide timely, transparent information to patients, the public and professionals about the quality of stroke care organisation in the post-acute setting locally and nationally.
4. To provide commissioners with evidence of the quality of commissioned services and to identify where improvements to services were needed and make recommendations.

Eligibility criteria

In 2021 services that saw 20 or more stroke patients a year and provided at least one of the following service functions were eligible to participate:

• Post-acute inpatient care
• Early Supported Discharge (ESD) team
• Community rehabilitation team (CRT)
• Combined ESD/CRT
• Single discipline service
• Other: post-acute support service or residential/bedded facility
• 6-month assessment provider