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“Every day in South Africa nearly 240 people will suffer a stroke, which will claim nearly 70 lives.”

Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa

Urgent medical treatment can save lives and improve outcomes

A stroke always requires urgent medical treatment to reduce debilitating long term consequences and prevent death.

Some people recover fully from a stroke. Without prompt, specialised treatment a stroke may, however, be debilitating and limit your ability to function normally again. This may also have a serious impact on your loved ones’ lives.

The good news is that much can be done to prevent a stroke and, with appropriate treatment and rehabilitation, limit its long term effects.

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B E  F A S T

The sooner you receive appropriate emergency treatment and medical treatment in a hospital after the start of a stroke, the better your chances of survival, minimising brain damage, and limiting other complications.

The acronym  B E  F A S T  is a helpful reminder of the signs of stroke and what action to take.

Balance

Sudden difficulty maintaining balance

Eyes

Problems with vision, including loss of sight in one eye or blurry vision

Facial drooping

Facial muscles are weak, often causing facial asymmetry as one side of the face starts to droop

Arm or leg weakness

Weakness in one or both arms or legs, and possible numbness on one side of their body. Poor coordination and difficulty walking or standing up can also be signs. Usually this occurs on one side of the body

Speech difficulty

Slurring words, using words incorrectly, or inability to speak

Time

Time is of the essence to get medical assistance and limit the consequences of a stroke. Call emergency medical services such as Netcare 911 for assistance or take the stroke victim to an emergency department. Take note of the time the stroke began or was first noticed

In an emergency, time matters

Download the new Netcare app, so Netcare 911 can immediately geolocate you in an emergency, wherever you are, for expert care and peace of mind.* You can also track your ambulance in-app for updates on when help will arrive, and easily access and view your Summary of Care from Netcare 911 a few days after the event.

Get the Netcare app now!

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*Medical aid or private rates will apply

24 Hour stroke ready Netcare Milpark and Netcare Unitas hospitals

Netcare Milpark and Netcare Unitas hospitals have been validated as meeting the criteria for ‘stroke ready facilities’: equipped and able to provide the full spectrum of specialised diagnostic and interventional services for the identification and treatment of stroke 24 hours a day, in line with global best practice.

The validation follows the contribution by Netcare’s emergency and trauma programme towards the Res-Q Quality of Stroke Care Registry. This initiative of the European Stroke Organisation Enhancing and Accelerating Stroke Treatment (ESO East) aims to assist healthcare systems across the world to improve stroke outcomes for patients.

Specialised stroke centre Netcare uMhlanga Hospital

This hospital is making excellent progress towards meeting the international set of measures confirming that the facility has the necessary systems, expertise and technology in place to provide the best care to stroke patients.

How Netcare improves outcomes for stroke patients

See what a Netcare stroke ready centre offers you:

  • Seamless, multidisciplinary care

    A Netcare stroke ready centre multidisciplinary team that includes a coordinator, neurologists, neurosurgeons, an interventional radiologist, as well as a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist, and social worker. This team underpins the highly specialised, evidence based stroke care offered to patients at Netcare’s stroke ready centres.

  • Emergency medical care

    Working seamlessly with emergency medical services provider, Netcare 911, and the multidisciplinary team at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital, we are able to achieve exceptional outcomes for most stroke patients.

    Prenotification by emergency medical services of an incoming stroke emergency and quick stroke scale assessment by the doctor in the emergency department are followed by a CT or MRI scan or other investigations to determine the type of stroke that the individual suffered.

  • Advanced stroke treatments

    Based on the results of these investigations, the multidisciplinary team then confers on the best treatment to restore crucial blood flow to the affected areas of the brain. This may involve either medication to dissolve clots, intricate and complex surgery to remove the blood clot, or other treatments. The patient is cared for in an intensive care unit or specialised stroke ward, where rehabilitation therapy will also be started.

  • Rehabilitation

    If the patient requires intensive physical rehabilitation, it is recommended that they receive further multidisciplinary rehabilitation at a dedicated physical rehabilitation centre to optimise their outcomes.

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Stroke recovery results

Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital and its associated multidisciplinary therapeutic practice, Rita Henn and Partners, measure two key indicators of their patients’ care:

  • A patient’s average weekly improvement in their ability to perform everyday activities using the Beta score.

  • The percentage of patients discharged to their homes from the rehabilitation centre. This is the internationally recognised measure of the success of a physical rehabilitation programme.

Between October 2020 and September 2021, 94,9% of patients admitted to Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital following a stroke were discharged to their homes. On average patients had a weekly improvement of 6.67 in their Beta score — above the national average recovery rate for stroke patients.

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Our commitment to quality of care

Our commitment to quality of care

It’s not just something we say. We regularly monitor, measure and publish the data that shows the high quality of care we provide, guided always by our principles of transparent and person centred health and care.

Explore our measures and results