TUESDAY, 29 OCTOBER, 2019

Photographs attached: Professor Silke Walter (standing centre, grey blazer), Professor Graeme Houston (standing centre right) and Professor Iris Grunwald (seated centre, red suit) with staff at Ninewells Hospital

Sharing learning around revolutionary stroke treatment

NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee hosted a visit from two leading professors to share learning around a new type of stroke treatment.

Thrombectomy is a procedure in which blood clots are removed mechanically rather than broken down by medicines (thrombolysis).

A service proposal and business plan is currently being developed to establish Ninewells Hospital as a regional centre for the delivery of mechanical thrombectomy in the North of Scotland. The timescales for this new development will form part of the overarching business plan for the establishment of thrombectomy services across Scotland, which will be considered by NHS Scotland within the next few months.

As part of these proposals, Professor Iris Grunwald, who is the leading stroke thrombectomy interventional neuroradiologist in the UK, has been training key staff in NHS Tayside using advanced simulation techniques, supported by neurologist Professor Silke Walter.

During this recent visit, Professors Grunwald and Walter met with NHS Tayside’s Chief Executive Grant Archibald, Dean of the University of Dundee School of Medicine Professor Rory McCrimmon and clinical staff including interventional radiologists, neurologists, stroke physicians, anaesthetists, nurses, interventional radiographers and CT/MRI teams.

The visit included a review of the training and research potential for the Ninewells Medical School to become a recognised leading centre of excellence in thrombectomy. The two professors also presented at the Ninewells Grand Rounds, which was well attended by NHS and Dundee University staff and students.

Professor Graeme Houston, chair of clinical imaging and intervention, and honorary consultant interventional radiologist, said, “It has been a great pleasure to host two leading professors in the field of stroke thrombectomy in NHS Tayside and University of Dundee.

“Professor Grunwald is an inspirational interventional neuroradiologist who has been working hard to train us in the skills necessary to safely deliver stroke thrombectomy, while Professor Walter has offered key insights into the importance of rapid treatment and assessment for stroke patients.

“Using advanced mechanical simulation, the training of interventional radiologists in Dundee is underway to undertake this key treatment for stroke patients.”  

Contact:

Louise Wilson

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740718