Background/Aims:
In Victoria, faster door‑to‑needle (DTN) and door‑to‑puncture times (DTP) were achieved through targeted pre‑hospital and hospital action. Results from Victoria’s first stroke improvement collaborative, aligned to the 2030 National Stroke Targets, demonstrated that coordinated state-wide care can deliver
Methods:
In Partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Safer Care Victoria brought together 17 health services, Ambulance Victoria, consumers, and clinicians. Using the Model for Improvement, teams tested and implemented locally tailored changes supported by shared learning via virtual calls and in-person Learning Sessions and a bespoke Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (AuSCR)dashboard.
Results:
Across participating services, substantial improvements in stroke treatment times were achieved. 82% of teams reduced median DTN, with 71% demonstrating favourable shifts in interquartile ranges. Eight teams achieved the 60‑minute DTN target, compared with five teams in 2024. 521 patients received faster treatment times resulting in an estimated 552 disability days saved. All primary‑presenting thrombectomy services reduced DTP times, with improvements also seen for transfers, resulting in an estimated 1095 disability days saved.
Conclusion:
A model that enables cross-sector collaboration supported by an improvement framework, strong clinical leadership, and data-driven decision-making can deliver faster, safer, and more equitable stroke care. The Victorian experience offers transferable learning for other jurisdictions seeking to improve time-critical stroke care—because time is brain, and every minute counts.