Stroke nursing: a national perspective.
Several consensus agreements have been issued by the royal colleges in the past on specific aspects of stroke. The new guidelines, however, go much further and are far more comprehensive. Healthcare workers now have a much needed instrument and backing to develop high-quality stroke services in the light of clinical governance and evidence-based practice initiatives. These guidelines are particularly important in forming the basis for clinical governance in stroke. Nursing methodologies have not been covered directly; however, there is much in the document that nurses can seize upon and develop. A huge need exists in terms of robust nursing research in this area (Thorn, 2000) and, in order to contribute in the future to the debate, nurses must co-ordinate their efforts in building a credible knowledge base.
Petty
J
J
Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust, Hope Hospital, Salford.
D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D020521:Stroke / Q000451:nursing*; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom