Giving stroke patients a fighting chance with proper management

Asia Royal Hospital wins in this year’s Healthcare Asia Awards.

Providing urgent care to sensitive cases such as stroke can be the difference between life and death, and Asia Royal Hospital has strived to make sure that the appropriate care is extended to Myanmar’s stroke patients.

By establishing a stroke unit spearheaded by a neurologist with a multidisciplinary team, Asia Royal Hospital was able to achieve its goal of stabilising patients, evaluating, and assessing with imaging and laboratory studies within sixty minutes upon arrival at the hospital. This stride in speed and effectiveness of care has earned them the Stroke Care Management Initiative of the Year - Myanmar Award at the 2023 Healthcare Asia Awards.

The awards programme recognises the achievements and efforts of healthcare organisations around Asia in providing quality care and innovating ways to provide medical care for patients, and Asia Royal Hospital distinguished itself by saving patients and their families from misery and helping sustain the quality of life.

In 2016, the Ministry of Health and Sports of Myanmar encouraged private hospitals in Yangon to develop and promote acute stroke care management, as acute stroke has become one of the leading causes of death amongst the population of Myanmar.

Asia Royal Hospital’s stroke care initiative started in 2017 and was planned within a year to cater to patients meeting suitable criteria. These patients were then administered with anti-thrombolytic drugs within sixty minutes under the supervision of trained resident medical officers and nurses.

Healthcare personnel were specialised to attend to these special cases through intensive training, resulting in motivated A&E medical officers and nurses who can work at higher standards at high speed. Educating patients and caregivers was facilitated through the distribution of booklets and brochures and the appearance of specialists and top management in TV shows to talk about the importance of urgency in managing stroke cases.

Once a patient was admitted into the hospital and stabilised, rehabilitation starts through plans and treatment goals respective to a patient’s cognitive and physical status. Patients without deficits can be discharged within a few days from admission, whilst some may be referred to the rehabilitation outpatient department for further treatment.

To support rehabilitation efforts for patients suffering from stroke, a speech therapist with over 20 years of experience in the United States was added to the medical team’s roster. 

Organisations such as the European Stroke Organization (ESO) and World Stroke Organization (WSO) have reached out to Asia Royal Hospital in assisting with treatment and preventing disability.

Asia Royal Hospital has become a preferred hospital for the referral of acute stroke patients, as no other hospital in Myanmar can provide 24/7 anti-Thrombolytic therapy. The stroke management and rehabilitation team has worked tirelessly to turn Asia Royal into one of the leading hospitals amongst private institutions in treating stroke patients.