Portland District Health - Stroke Telemedicine and support Services
During a stroke, things move quickly once you get to hospital. The emergency team works to learn what type of stroke you're having by completing a comprehensive assessment on you. You'll likely have a CT scan or other imaging test soon after arrival. Healthcare professionals also need to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.
Emergency treatment depends on whether you're having an ischemic or haemorrhagic stroke. During an ischemic stroke, blood vessels in the brain are blocked or narrowed. During a haemorrhagic stroke, there is bleeding into the brain.
Portland District Health has access to life-saving stroke care in the form of a Victorian Stroke Telemedicine (VST) service.
The specialist service run by Ambulance Victoria connects smaller Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres with Stroke Specialists who give advice on treating the stroke symptoms.
People in rural areas are more likely to have a stroke and a poorer outcome, making VST a part of the team in the emergency care of patients.
The health services’ Urgent Care Centre doesn't have the same access to on-site specialists as larger hospitals, so every minute matters when treating strokes, and the service is crucial for locals, connecting patients with expert doctors who provide diagnosis and treatment, enabling them to receive the right care at the right time regardless of their location.
Stroke Services at Portland District Health
PDH can support patients in their post rehabilitation journey with the support of our Outpatient services.
PDH can support our clients to access the relevant services for their recovery journey. This is assessed on an individual basis.
Some services that may be accessed through our Outpatient clinics are:
Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Counselling, Social Work, Dietetics, Chronic & Complex Care nurses (through our Hospital Admission Risk Program), Continence and other services as required.
Please contact our intake team on 03 5521 1435 or intake.pdh@swarh.vic.gov.au for more information on support services.
