Austin Health CEO (Interim) Cameron Goodyear with Angels Initiative representative Samantha Dagasso

25 February 2025

Austin Health has been recognised for its outstanding stroke care, achieving its first-ever World Stroke Organization (WSO) Angels Diamond Award!

This prestigious accolade makes Austin Hospital the first hospital in Victoria, and only the third hospital in Australia to receive diamond status, a milestone that reflects its commitment to providing world-class stroke treatment.

The Angels Initiative, a collaboration between the WSO, European Stroke Organisation, and Boehringer Ingelheim, sets global benchmarks for best-practice stroke care. The Diamond Award represents the highest level of performance, requiring hospitals to demonstrate excellence in treatment times, coordinated care, diagnostic imaging, and secondary prevention measures.

To celebrate this achievement, an afternoon tea was held at the hospital, attended by members of the stroke unit and other departments involved in stroke care, along with Austin Health CEO (Interim) Cameron Goodyear and Angels Initiative representative Samantha Dagasso. During the event, Samantha officially presented the award to the team, recognising their excellence in stroke care.

Cameron Goodyear praised the team’s dedication.

“These achievements are a result of a multidisciplinary approach to stroke care, and the true beneficiaries of this are our patients.”

Karyn Owen, Stroke Nurse Unit Manager, highlighted Austin Health’s long-standing commitment to stroke care.

“Stroke care has been a priority at Austin Health since the 1970s when Professors Donnan and Bladin established the first dedicated stroke unit. Since then, our Acute Stroke Care Unit has been at the forefront of evidence-based treatments, including thrombolysis and clot retrieval which was pioneered by Associate Professor Mark Brooks," she said.

This achievement is the result of strong teamwork between numerous departments, according to Dr Davor Pavlin-Premrl, Neurointerventionist and Vascular Neurologist.

“Our close collaboration between neurology, radiology, emergency, and anaesthetics teams has led to outstanding outcomes for our stroke patients,” he said.

Neurologist, Dr Marion Simpson, reflected on the evolution of stroke treatment at Austin Health, having witnessed remarkable growth in treatment options since she started as a junior registrar in 2007.

“We’ve moved to an era where Endovascular Clot Retrieval and intra-arterial therapies are readily available. Despite this growth, our focus remains on delivering time-critical, high-quality care while supporting patients and their families through a life-changing event.”

In 2024, Austin Health treated almost 700 stroke cases, with significant improvements in treatment times. The average door-to-needle time - the time from hospital arrival to clot-busting treatment - has decreased by 16 minutes, as has the door-to-recanalisation time for clot retrieval procedures.

Kim Malkin, Stroke Care Program Manager for the Angels Initiative in Australia, praised Austin Health’s dedication.

“With around 46,000 stroke events occurring in Australia each year - one every 11 minutes - every improvement in stroke care is worth celebrating. Only three Australian hospitals have achieved WSO Angels Diamond status, and Austin Health should be immensely proud of this accomplishment.”

This recognition reinforces Austin Health’s position as a leader in stroke care, ensuring patients receive the best possible treatment and outcomes in their most critical moments.