Audit design

The SSNAP clinical audit is continuous. It collects data prospectively on all patients in England and Wales admitted to hospital following a stroke, from admission to 6 months after stroke. The audit covers the pathway across providers by transferring the electronic record on a password protected webtool. The webtool has been developed to measure against evidence-based processes and outcomes of care. Data are of very high quality and completeness, which enable analysis at both team- and patient-centred level (patient-centred level represents a "patient's eye" view of care quality across the whole stroke pathway). All patients with a primary diagnosis of stroke coded as I-61, I-63, I-64, but excluding subarachnoid haemorrhage should be submitted to SSNAP. Patients already in hospital for another condition and those patients not treated on a stroke unit should also be included. The minimum age for patient submission to SSNAP is 16.