Service for the diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke

This commissioning guide provides support for the local implementation of NICE clinical guidelines through commissioning, and is a resource to help health professionals in England to commission an effective service for the diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke.

This commissioning guide should be read in conjunction with the following NICE guidance:

• NICE clinical guideline CG68. Diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

The clinical guideline covers clinical and cost effectiveness in detail and underpins the content of this guide. Implementation of the guidance noted above is the responsibility of local commissioners and/or providers. Commissioners and providers are reminded that it is their responsibility to implement this guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to avoid unlawful discrimination and to have regard to promoting equality of opportunity. Nothing in the guidance should be interpreted in a way which would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

The NICE guideline should also be read with the Department of Health National Stroke Strategy. Commissioners may also wish to refer to the NICE commissioning guide on diagnosis and initial management of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and NICE commissioning guide on anticoagulation therapy service when reviewing or redesigning stroke services.

The guide:

• makes the case for commissioning an acute stroke service
• specifies service requirements
• helps you determine local service levels
• helps you ensure corporate and quality assurance.

The full text of this commissioning guide is openly available, and is accessed from the navigation menu on the right of the screen. The associated commissioning tool is designed to support the guide, and is currently available to primary care organisations in England. For information governance reasons, registration is required to access the tool. Go to the commissioning tool to register for access and to log in.

We are keen to improve the commissioning guides in order to better meet the needs of commissioners. Please send us your ideas for future topic-specific guides or other comments.

Read the NICE disclaimer for information on the use and accuracy of content on the NICE website.

• Topic-specific Advisory Group: acute stroke service

December 2008

• Diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke
• Commissioning a service for the diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke
• Specifying a service for the diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke
• Determining local service levels for a service for the diagnosis and initial management of acute stroke
• Assumptions used in estimating a population benchmark
• The commissioning tool
• Ensuring corporate and quality assurance