For Rhys, under Option A…
An ambulance takes Rhys to Glangwili Hospital, Rhys is taken directly to the Emergency Department for an assessment before being transferred for a CT scan. If a stroke is confirmed, thrombolysis treatment will be administered at the Emergency Department.
Following the scan Rhys would return to the Emergency Department before being transferred to Prince Philip or Withybush stroke units 12/7 unit (12 hours a day, seven days a week).
If Rhys hasn’t had a stroke, he will go back to the Emergency Department at Glangwili Hospital for further tests.
If Rhys had a more serious stroke (with a large blood vessel occlusion, which is a type of stroke where blood flow to a main artery in the brain is interrupted) he would have been taken by ambulance to the thrombectomy centre at Bristol or Cardiff. Thrombectomy can be used to treat these types of stroke. This care is provided regionally for Wales and south and western regions of England at Bristol and Cardiff.
Once the Bristol or Cardiff thrombectomy team assess Rhys is fit to be discharged from their care he will be transferred to Prince Philip or Withybush Stroke units 12/7 units (12 hours a day, seven days a week) or directly home.
If thrombectomy is not the right treatment for Rhys, he will be taken to Stroke Unit at Prince Philip or Withybush 12/7 units (12 hours a day, seven days a week) for acute and rehabilitation stroke treatment. Rhys may be able to be discharged home with support from the Early Supported Discharge and Community Integrated Stroke Team.