Waiting time halved

A quantum leap for stroke patients

Thanks to the new system, it is no longer necessary to register at the hospital outpatient department(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger)

The "Fast Lane" pilot project between Ried im Innkreis Hospital and the Red Cross has halved the waiting time for emergency patients to receive acute treatment in hospital. This is a figure that puts the Innviertel region at the forefront nationwide and can even compete internationally.

How can patients be treated more quickly after a stroke in order to increase their chances of recovery? Experts from the Red Cross and Ried Hospital set themselves this task and jointly developed the "Fast Lane" advance notification system.

Only 26 minutes
Thanks to this system, it has actually been possible to halve the time between the patient arriving at the hospital and the start of treatment from an average of 51 minutes to just 26 minutes. "I am extremely proud of this project, which is unparalleled and has absolutely positive benefits for the patient. With these times, we are now among the best in the world," enthuses Andreas Kampfl, Head of Neurology at Ried Hospital.

After all, time is of the essence when it comes to strokes. "Time is brain - every minute of waiting time causes two million nerve cells to die, every hour the brain ages for three and a half years," emphasizes Kampfl.

If patients are admitted to the stroke unit within three hours, their chance of recovery is 75 percent. If the time interval is between three and four and a half hours, this drops to just 26 percent.

Second most common cause of death
Strokes (20,000 to 25,000 per year) are the second most common cause of death in Austria, with 30 percent of patients suffering permanent disabilities.

With the "Fast Lane" system, those patients who require acute treatment in hospital are notified in detail in advance. The relevant information about the patient is passed on via a telephone conference call between the rescue coordination center, emergency doctor and neurologist. The computer tomograph is then also reserved for the patient, and as soon as the patient arrives at the hospital, the examinations can begin immediately.