Lalitha Super Specialty Hospital’s Ankineedu stroke centre becomes India’s first QAI certified stroke centre – Times of India

GUNTUR: Outsmarting several top players in metros, Ankineedu Stroke centre of Lalitha Super Speciality Hospital, Guntur in Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the first Advance Stroke centre in the country to receive disease specific stroke accreditation from Quality and Accreditation Institution (QAI). Indian Stroke Association (ISA) has joined hands with QAI to bring global standards to the stroke centres in India. QAI has set several stringent norms to clear the certification. “We are happy to declare that Ankineedu stroke centre of Lalitha super specialty hospitals has become the first to get QAI certification in India,” declared CEO of QUA, Dr BK Rana.
Eminent neurologist and director Ankineedu stroke center Dr P Vijaya was felicitated in National Pediatric Stroke conclave held in Mumbai last week where India’s top neurologists and stroke leaders were present. Indian Stroke Association (ISA) president Dr Anand Alurkar handed over the QAI accreditation certificate to Dr.P.Vijaya during the function. Immediate past president, ISA, Dr.V.G.Pradeep Kumar, President (elect) Dr.Nirmal Surya, Secretary Dr.Arvind Sharma, Dr.B.K.Rana, CEO, QAI and QAI technical committee member Neeraj Lal were present on the occasion.
This is a disease specific accreditation given for the best care of the brain stroke (paralysis patients). Basically 2 levels of stroke care and the center is recognized for the highest level of care including clinical, advanced brain imaging, interventional , neurosurgery and research. “There are 2 tiers of stroke centres such as primary stroke centre and advanced stroke centre. Ankineedu stroke center is recognized as an “Advanced Stroke centre” with facilities like in-house emergency CT scan, advanced imaging-128 slice cine CT Angio, Stroke MRI, MR Angiogram, Carotid duplex ultrasound, conventional Cerebral angiography with DSA, TTE, TEE available on-site 24hrs a day and 7 days a week,” said Dr Vijaya.
She explained that a team of neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional neuro-radiologists, critical care specialists, emergency physicians, stroke nurses, dietician, physiotherapists, speech therapist, social workers, other paramedical staff as ‘Stroke Action Team‘ working 24/7 and 365 days a year to take care of all types of brain strokes. She said that Ankineedu stroke center which was started in 1996 had many milestones to its credit including the first stroke unit started in undivided AP to treat paralysis patients in specialized ICU. Second one in India after Chennai. It has developed into a full-fledged comprehensive center from prevention, acute care to rehabilitation. “We were the first to start IV thrombolysis way back in 2003. Ours is the first few centres in the SouthEast region to start interventional stroke therapies in the year 2005. We have presented the original research data in various International Stroke conferences. Now, we are happy that we have become the pioneer to get QAI accreditation in India,” said Dr Vijaya. She said that in the USA just around 1 percent of the total stroke centres are recognised as advanced stroke centres. Dr Vijaya is also executive committee member of ISA and vice president of AP neuroscientists association.