Background and purpose: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) assumptions every patient with a stroke should be treated by a specialized stroke team or in a specialized stroke unit. The aim of our study was to evaluate the accessibility and eligibility of stroke units in Poland.
Materials and methods: We have developed a questionnaire evaluating the structure and staff of neurological departments. The questionnaire was sent to all neurological departments in Poland in the last quarter of 2003. We grouped the departments in 5 categories: having a stroke unit of class A (fulfilling the criteria of the Experts of the National Program of Prevention and Treatment of Stroke guidelines), class B (conditionally fulfilling the criteria), class C (not fulfilling the criteria), departments having stroke units without a separate structure and departments without stroke units. The classification was shown to each provincial consultant in order to verify our data in January 2004.
Results: We have received replies from 194 of 222 (87.4%) departments. 97 departments declared having a stroke unit: 20 -- class A, 56 -- class B, 14 -- class C and 7 -- stroke units without a separate structure. The remaining 97 departments do not have any stroke units. The most frequent problem that plays a role in the classification of departments was the deficit of staff or equipment.
Conclusions: The stroke unit network in Poland is developing dynamically, but a significant number of the existing stroke units need more diagnostic equipment, staff and structural changes.