Background/Aims
Stroke is a time-critical medical emergency with delays in reaching appropriate stroke care services for treatment affecting recovery and survival. The aim of this study was to estimate the Australian population that live beyond the specified travel time (that is 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes) from stroke care services.
Methods
Geographic access was measured as the estimated travel time by car from population locations to the nearest stroke care service locations using Esri ArcGIS software. Results were disaggregated by remoteness and statistical areas.
Results
In 2024, about 53% and 91% of the population in Australia were within a 30 and 60-minute travel time of a primary or comprehensive stroke centre, respectively. An estimated 86% of Australians who reside in Remote and very remote areas were beyond a 60-minute travel time from a health service with capability to provide intravenous thrombolytics (compared to 0% from Major cities) and 99% of Remote and very remote residents were beyond a 60-minute travel time from a primary or comprehensive stroke centre (compared to 0% from Major cities).
Conclusion
These findings show that spatial access to stroke care services varies by remoteness. This suggests that to successfully achieve the 30/60/90 National Stroke Targets of improving timely, evidence-based stroke care, there is need to improve geographic access to stroke care services in remote areas which also experience a higher burden of stroke compared to Major cities.