Sentinal stroke national audit project (SSNAP)

• Aims to improve the quality of stroke care by auditing stroke services against evidence based standards.
• Whole pathway: acute to community based care. 

SSNAP will provide regular, routine, reliable data:

–      to benchmark services national and regionally

–      to monitor progress against a background of change

–      to support clinicians in identifying where improvements are needed, lobbying for change and celebrating success

–      to empower patients to ask searching questions.

SSNAP will be the single source of data for stroke.

–      SSNAP will provide the data for all other statutory data collections including the NICE Quality Standard and Accelerating Stroke Improvement (ASI) metrics.

–      SSNAP will be the chosen method for collection for stroke measures in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the CCG Outcomes Indicator Set (formerly known as the Commissioning Outcomes Framework or COF).

SNAP SLT questions to be filled out for each patient

1.     Was the patient considered to require SLT at this point in their admission?

2.     On how many days did the patient receive SLT.

3.     How many minutes of SLT did the patient receive in total – pulled of EPR.

4.     Date communication first assessed by SLT.

5.     Time communication first assessed by SLT.

6.     If no communication assessment by discharge what was the reason?

7.     Date of formal swallow assessment by SLT or other dysphagia trained professional.

8.     Time of formal swallow assessment by SLT or other dysphagia trained professional.

9.     If no formal swallow assessment by discharge what was the reason?

10.  Date rehab goals agreed.

11.  If no goals, what was the reason (keep reasons for not seeing patients/ completing goals etc.).

Reflection

1. Think of a recent therapy session or event.

I was asked to fill in SNAP data for SLT patients over the last three months (backdated).

2. Describe the session/experience

I leafed through patients’ files and asked SLT’s if they remembered information relating to first contacts etc. In the notes we had not written in which contact was the initial contact so it was difficult to find the initial contact time/ date. I keep weekly timetables of the patients I see/ activities I do but throw these away every week so I had not saved this information and needed to retrieve it from EPR.

3. What did this session make you feel?

I felt stressed and concerned because I needed to provide accurate data for the audit.

5. What has this session has taught you?

•  To write down the date of the initial swallowing/ communication assessment, date of goal setting, reasons for not assessing/ treating a patient, time spent with a client and what time they were seen in a hardback diary which I then keep.
•  To regularly review the goals and outcomes of patients I see.
• To keep a file with summaries of patient goals, outcomes, therapy and assessment so that I can audit my performance in the future.