Brainsafe - rapid-access stroke prevention service 

What is Brainsafe? 

Brainsafe is a 7-day, rapid-access ambulatory assessment and treatment service for patients with suspected TIA and minor stroke, based at The Northumbria Hospital (NSECH) in Cramlington. We have access to same-day brain and carotid imaging for those patients who require it, and for most patients who attend the service all the required assessments, investigations, counselling and treatment can be completed in a single visit, reducing the need for further outpatient follow-up appointments.

How to refer 

If you have seen a patient with suspected TIA, please send a brief referral letter to the Northumbria Stroke/TIA service via the national e-referral system (ERS) the same day, as urgently as possible.

To allow us to triage the referral effectively, we need a detailed description of the patient’ reported symptoms, along with when the symptoms happened. Up to date contact information for the patient is also helpful. We don’t need a specific referral form, and you don’t need to complete the ABCD2 risk stratification tool.

This referral will get picked up by our admin team as soon as it arrives, and flagged for triage. The clinical team will review the referral and decide on the most appropriate form of assessment. Please inform the patient that they will be contacted directly by our team within 1 working day of the referral being received, and safety-net accordingly.

You don’t need to send the patient to hospital, and unless you have any specific concern to discuss, you don’t need to speak to the on-call stroke team.

What else to do 

For patients with suspected TIA, whose symptoms have completely resolved, please start aspirin 300mg daily immediately unless contraindicated. Please tell the patient that we will be in contact with them, and remember to tell them not to drive until they have been assessed.

Advice for patients with suspected minor stroke 

Brainsafe can also be a pathway for assessment of selected patients with suspected minor stroke. If you see a patient who has ongoing mild symptoms, please contact the on-call stroke nurse practitioner on 0191 607 2862, who will advise you how urgently the patient needs to be assessed. Wherever possible, we will try to help avoid the patient needing to attend the Emergency Department.

Please do not send the patient directly to the Ambulatory Care Unit without speaking to the on-call stroke team first. 

Advice for non-urgent enquiries 

For non-urgent enquires, please submit an Advice and Guidance enquiry to the Northumbria Stroke/TIA service. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 72 hours.

Prefer to watch a video? 

If you have any questions, comments or feedback about the Brainsafe service at Northumbria, we would be happy to hear them, and to help if possible. You can email brainsafe@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk 

You can download all of the information using this link.