The proportion of stroke patients arriving in Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital within the critical time period for treatment has increased after the first national stroke awareness campaign in 2016.
The “Spot Stroke” campaign and “StrokeHub” portal launched to get even more Singaporeans to recognise the symptoms of stroke and save more lives.
In a study by the National neuroscience Institute (NNI), the proportion of stroke patients arriving in Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital within the critical time period for treatment has increased after the first national stroke awareness campaign in 2016.
The proportion of patients arriving within 3.5 hours increased from 28% to 41%, and within seven hours increased from 42% to 58%.
Arriving early in hospital after onset of stroke is essential to improve chances of recovery and reduce disability. Treatment for dissolving the blood clot causing the stroke has to be administered in the first 3.5 hours, while interventional treatment has to be administered in the first seven.
Spot Stroke & StrokeHub
Stroke is the fourth most common cause of death in Singapore. Survivors often have long-term implications such as problems with movement, speech or memory.
To get more Singaporeans to recognise the symptoms of stroke and save more lives, the Stroke Services Improvement (SSI) team, from the Ministry of Health, announced the launch of nationwide stroke awareness campaign, Spot Stroke, and online portal StrokeHub, on World Stroke Day, 29 October 2017.
Assoc Prof Deidre Anne De Silva (third from left) and Dr Amy Khor (fourth from left) at the Spot Stroke campaign launch on Sunday (Oct 29).
Associate Professor Deidre Anne De Silva, Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology, NNI and Chair of SSI, said, “Instead of ignoring symptoms by sleeping them off or waiting and hoping for spontaneous resolution, we seek to further educate Singaporeans on how to recognise stroke and the urgency to call for an ambulance immediately when stroke occurs.”
Spot Stroke focuses on increasing awareness of the symptoms of stroke using the acronym “FAST” as a checklist for the symptoms and action to be taken during a stroke. More details can be found on the Spot Stroke Facebook page.
The online portal StrokeHub provides reliable, accurate and easily accessible information about stroke. Healthcare workers can refer their patients to the portal and download or print the information for patients and their families. StrokeHub is hosted by the Health Promotion Board and can be accessed at http://healthhub.sg/strokehub
