The number of stroke patients seen over time may fluctuate particularly when a service undergoes reconfiguration. If a team’s number of cases varies by more than 10% (above or below the current expected cases) then the SSNAP team may be able to adjust the expected number of cases. Where this applies teams are encouraged to contact the SSNAP helpdesk as soon as possible.
Evidence of the total number of stroke cases coded as I61, I63 and I64 should be provided for a minimum of three months. This coded data is ordinarily supplied by the team's information or coding department.
Please make sure the data provided contains the ICD-10 code and the admission and/or discharge date for the patient. Please do not send any patient identifiable information, including NHS number, name, address, GP details, etc.
All coded data must be sent by the data-locking deadline. It is not possible to change the expected figure after the deadline has passed.
To view your current expected cases, follow this link once logged into the SSNAP webtool, and download "Expected cases".
Tip: The above advice is for routinely admitting teams only. If you are a non-routinely admitting team or non-acute inpatient team then your case ascertainment is calculated differently, based on discharges relative to admissions.
How are expected cases calculated to start with?
SSNAP uses HES data from previous years to calculate a denominator for each routinely admitting team to set “expected” numbers of future admissions per year. SSNAP wishes to check and validate the number of records each team has submitted to the audit in previous years against the contemporaneous HES for that time period, and to set expected figures for the upcoming year. Comparing the number of SSNAP admissions to the expected figure for each team is an important validation for SSNAP, and acts as a measure of case ascertainment for England.