Time is brain: Act FAST

Its not very often that blogs I write have been prompted by patient encounters but this week I saw a patient who had what sounded like a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) two weeks ago and had waited for a routine appointment to see me. TIAs are mini strokes in which patients have the symptom's of a stroke but then fully recover. The significance of TIAs are there there is a one in chance that those who have had a TIA will experience a full stroke during the four weeks following the TIA.

The symptoms of a stroke or TIA are remembered with the mnemonic FAST:

FACE: the face may have dropped to one side
ARMS: person may not be able to lift one or both arms and keep them there
SPEECH: may slurred or garbled
TIME: it is time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms

A stroke is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention. So recognising the signs of stroke and calling 999 for an ambulance is crucial. The sooner somebody who is having a stroke gets urgent medical attention, the better their chances of a good recovery. And rapid diagnosis of TIA (mini-stroke) allows urgent steps to be taken to reduce the risk of having a stroke. Click here for the ACT FAST website and more information.

So if you think you or a relative has had a TIA or stroke, don't wait for a routine appointment but dial 999 and get immediate medical attention!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kings Medical Practice - Privacy Notice

How we use your information This privacy notice explains why the Kings Medical Practice collects information about you, and how that information may be used.  As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998.  This means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled in ways that are safe, transparent and what you would reasonably expect.  The Health and Social Care Act 2012 changed the way that personal confidential data is processed. Therefore it is important that patients are made aware of, and understand these changes and that you have an opportunity to object if you so wish and that you know how to do so. Health care professionals maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within the NHS (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.).  These records help to provide the best possible healthcare. NHS health records may be processed electronically, on
Read more

Online services

The practice has recently extended the number of Online services that we have available. The Online services are available via a link from our website, click here or via the SystmOnline app from either the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads or from Google Play Store for phones and tablets running the Android operating system. Not all the services that you can access via the website are available via the app though. SystmOnline is a web based service that is linked to the practice clinical record system, SystmOne. SystmOnline will allow you to: manage appointments - book, change and cancel view/request prescriptions add/change contact details send a registration request request access to your SystmOne detailed patient record and you can then view an audit of who has accessed your patient record view your medical summary and/or detailed patient record via SystmOnline view details of patholog
Read more

Rules for handling confidential information

The practice handles confidential health information and we have to ensure that it is held securely and shared appropriately. A number of laws, principles and obligations govern how we should handle this information. But they have grown increasingly complicated to understand and this has sometimes made it hard for staff to make clear decisions about when they should and should not share confidential information. I am the practice and also NHS Wakefield CCG Caldicott Guardian. It is one of my jobs to ensure that we handle patient confidential information correctly. I went on an update day yesterday for Caldicott Guardian and came across 'A Guide to Confidentiality in Health and Social Care' produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Click here for the link. The guide has a five rules that are very clear and will help staff be clear about how they should protect information and when they can share it. It is also useful for patients because it simply and cl
Read more