Every 30 minutes a stroke patient that could have been saved, dies or is permanently disabled because they were treated in the wrong hospital. Despite improved treatments being available, more than 50% of stroke patients end up with severe post-stroke outcomes.

There was a lack of stroke-ready hospitals and many existing centres didn’t have the guidance, training or resources to properly treat stroke patients. As a result, many patients that could have been saved either died or were permanently disabled because they failed to receive immediate, effective treatment that only a specialised stroke team can provide.

A personal experience, with a family member that suffered a stroke in South Africa and did not receive the treatment they deserved, created the determination to drive change, and thereby the Angels Initiative was born. With only 5 stroke-ready hospitals, only 50 out of an estimated 130,000 patients received guideline-recommended treatments.

Our long-term strategy was built on 5 pillars of success. We began with the introduction of Angels Consultants – free dedicated stroke experts brought into hospitals to solve set-up complexity and time issues, providing protocols, guidelines and driving implementation.

Standardisation helped removed variability, introducing unique tools and procedures such as analogue checklists, patient bracelets, imaging software, Point of Care devices and specialised Stroke Kits so every patient is treated in the same way.

From simulation and certification to continuous eLearning, Angels delivered an empowering training platform to support immediate, effective implementation.

With this, we established a thriving community – facilitating information and experience exchange between participants through our digital platform and magazine – creating a brand people wanted to be a part of.

Quality monitoring was also incredibly important. Using ESO benchmarks, we tracked, recognised and celebrated progress with Excellence Awards to reward commitment and drive long-term change.