The General Hospital “Dr Tomislav Bardek” in Koprivnica in Northern Croatia was the setting for a practical training workshop on acute stroke on 17 June. This was the third such training event for doctors, nurses, and technicians from the EMS and emergency departments at hospitals and ambulance services in five counties. Because numbers are limited by the practical format of the event, interest in the workshop is high.
This year, the 32 healthcare professionals who were admitted to the workshop came from the counties of Krapina-Zagorje, EPožega-Slavonia, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Karlovac, and Koprivnica-Križevci. Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Koprivnica-Križevci are Croatia’s first two Angels Regions.
The main goal of the event was to teach participants how to use the FAST ED scale, an emergency medical tool used to quickly identify severe strokes caused by Large Vessel Occlusion (LVO). This rapid neurological examination is used to calculate stroke severity, helping paramedics route patients directly to the appropriate specialized stroke centres.
Use of the scale would help improve collaboration between hospital and EMS during the prenotification process, Angels consultant Maria Sheverdina said.
Participants were welcomed to the workshop by Prof. Zdravka Poljaković, who is head of the department of Intensive Neurology and Cerebrovascular Diseases at KBC Zagreb and Head of the Croatian Neurological Society; Prof. Hrvoje Budinčević, deputy head of neurology and head of the Stroke and Intensive Care Unit at Sveti Duh University Hospital in Zagreb, and Dr. Maja Grba-Bujević, Director of the Croatian Institute of Emergency Medicine.
Dr Ana Domjan Babić and Dr Mirta Pihać, both emergency medicine specialists at the Institute of Emergency Medecine of Koprivnica-Križevci County, gave a presentation on the value of prenotification in acute stroke patients.
Dr Tomislav Bardek General Hospital’s Dr Juraj Mark Poje and Dr Dijana Osman, respectively head of neurology and emergency, presented the results of the Angels Initiative intervention in their hospital. The impact of Angels enrolment on the management of stroke patients in the ED had also been the topic of a poster which Dr Osman presented at EUSEM 2025.
This was followed by presentations on Minor stroke with LVO indications for thrombectomy (Prof. Zdravka Poljaković), Wake-up stroke (Prof. Hrvoje Budinčević), and the use of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in the care of patients with acute stroke (Dr. Maja Grba-Bujević). Marina Friščić, head nurse of the Emergency Department at General Hospital "Dr. Tomislav Bardek" Koprivnica, delivered a presentation on the triage process in patients with acute stroke.
The afternoon session was devoted to FAST ED, in a series of presentations by Dr Osman who also led two simulations together with Angels consultant Maria, and Dr Juraj Mark Poje. During the simulation, participants worked in pairs using the Angels checklists.
Prof. Budinčević during his presentation applauded the fact that young specialists such as Drs Osman and Poje were teaching others by sharing their own experiences.
