Stroke is a medical emergency and each year alone 100,000 people will have a stroke. The Acute Stroke Unit (ASU) at Wolverhampton is a 39 bedded unit which incorporates 8 HASU beds and a dedicated TIA/Stroke clinic.

The inpatient ward area (C21) currently treats approximately 1200 patients per year and the clinicians see approximately a further 1000 in our Emergency department that prove to be non-strokes. We provide a 24/7 thrombolysis service and have direct access to the thrombectomy service at UHMN. All stroke patients are seen in A&E by our specialist stroke CNS/ANP team who cover 24/7.

We operate a 7 day TIA (transient ischaemic attack) clinic service that sees approximately 2,000 new patients per year. Currently the service covers Wolverhampton, Walsall and South Staffordshire with a population of approximately 700,000.

The service has seen a steady increase in the number of stroke patients over the last 5 years, and we are keen to not only raise awareness and reduce the risk of future stroke but strive towards being recognised as one the best performing stroke centres in the UK.

To mark the amazing work of the team and to acknowledge how many patients have been cared for the team are cycling 1170 miles (one mile for every patient) to raise awareness and funds to allow the service to be enhanced. In order to improve the service we provide the team are raising funds to purchase a new state of the art monitoring system for use in HASU.

This equipment will allow the team to monitor stroke patients with more intensity and precision, reducing life threatening complications as well as increasing the opportunity to identify AF (Atrial Fibrillation) the biggest cause of ischeamic stroke leading to better interventions and treatments for patients.