THE quality of stroke care provided at Colchester General Hospital is the second best in the country, a survey has found.

The Royal College of Physicians has revealed Colchester Hospital Trust came second only to King’s Hospital in London in a survey of all 175 trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which admit patients for emergency and serious stroke care.

Moira Keating, nurse consultant for stroke services, said: “In my opinion, the entire Colchester stroke team takes ownership of each and every patient and pulls out all the stops to ensure that patients receive the best possible care and achieve their goals.”

The clinical audit was the first of its kind and aims to improve the quality of stroke care.

It looked at brain scanning, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language work, teamwork, discharge standards and more.

Dr Ramachandran Sivakumar, consultant stroke physician at the hospital, said: “Stroke care is very much teamwork and our success is down to a multidisciplinary approach that involves therapy staff, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietitians, besides doctors and nurses.

“While it shows we are performing extremely strongly, we are certain we can do even better and that is what we are focusing on.”

The unit, on the ground floor of Gainsborough Wing, is served by around 50 staff and treats more than 600 patients a year.

It has its own gymnasium and received a £1.4 million expansion in 2010.