St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals, the first in Western Australia to receive Australian Stroke Coalition Unit Certification

The Australian Stroke Foundation launched their new certification program in 2023 with St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals being one of the first five hospitals and the only in Western Australia to have now achieved full certification.

26 May 2023

Stroke care is a complex task and a key focus area within St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals. The multidisciplinary team at Midland comprises doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with expertise in the areas of stroke management and rehabilitation.

As part of the certification process, hospitals are required to meet a set of national stroke care criteria including:

caring for all stroke patients on a single dedicated ward with specialist staff
regular training
data monitoring
continuous improvement
patient involvement in decision making.

Formal Stroke Unit Certification is recommended by both the World Health Organisation, the World Stroke organisation and the Federal Government Heart and Stroke Plan as a method of ensuring the best possible outcomes for stroke sufferers. Some 39,500 Australians are affected by stroke events each year.

St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals Acting CEO, Royce Vermeulen, commended the team on the achievement. “Whilst seeking accreditation via the Stroke Foundation isn’t mandatory, for the team at Midland, it was considered to be an essential process and one that we needed to embrace in the interests of providing the best possible patient outcomes. The team have really gone the extra mile in achieving accreditation and we are justifiably proud of their efforts”.

Stroke Foundation Interim Executive Director, Stroke Services and Research, Kelvin Hill, says the certification will improve outcomes for patients. “Treatment on a dedicated stroke unit is proven to make the biggest overall difference of any intervention to patient outcomes following stroke, reducing the risks of both death and disability. Both Australian and international evidence suggests that rigorous stroke centre certification programs improve the quality of stroke care and patient outcomes.”