Reorganisation of stroke care in prehospital emergency medical services: results through transformative learning

Background: Rapid recanalisation is important when treating ischaemic stroke patients. In Finland, the reorganisation of the prehospital emergency medical system and the establishment of emergency medicine as an independent speciality occurred some years ago. These reforms offered the opportunity to develop new prehospital and in-hospital pathways for stroke patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, we examined the immediate impact of implementing a new operating model in prehospital stroke care. We introduced a modified “load-and-go” model using a transformative learning process. We observed the immediate effects of the reorganisation by comparing prehospital time intervals three months before and three months after the reorganisation. Results: The new operating model was implemented using a transformative learning process. There was an immediate reduction of 35.1% from 21.4 to 13.9 minutes (P < 0.001) in the median on-scene time and of 18.2% from 52.7 to 43.1 minutes (P < 0.05) in the median total time, i.e. the time interval between the alarm from the dispatch centre to patient hand-over to ED. Conclusion: By using a transformative learning process in implementing a modified load-and-go operation model in the EMS, we could immediately reduce median on-scene time and median total time in the treatment of acute stroke patients.