Comprehensive training to support stroke prevention in primary care has been developed by the Oxford AHSN and partners.
The free online tool is funded by Health Education England and available through its e-Learning for Healthcare platform.
The programme is for GPs, pharmacists and other clinicians who care for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) – a major cause of stroke. It aims to improve assessment of stroke risk and suitability for anticoagulation therapy, as well as how to initiate and monitor this therapy.
It was developed by Dr Kiruba Nagaratnam, stroke service clinical lead at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, pharmacist Satinder Bhandal and Hannah Oatley, AF programme lead at the Oxford AHSN.
Kiruba said: “Atrial fibrillation related strokes comprise a quarter of all ischaemic strokes and carry a poorer prognosis. I hope this e-learning module, developed in collaboration with the Oxford AHSN, will help clinicians to ‘detect, protect and perfect’ the management of AF in line with the NHS Long Term Plan to reduce AF related strokes.”
The programme is the latest in a series of training packages developed with the Oxford AHSN and offered on the e-LfH platform. They include award-winning support for midwives learning from fetal heart sounds in labour and a package designed to prevent urinary tract infections caused by catheters.