Community stories

In his introduction to the first Angels Journey of 2023, JAN VAN DER MERWE pays tribute to a woman whose tragedy became the spark for an organisation dedicated to improve outcomes for stroke patients.

They didn’t just start a new job, they started a new life and joined a new family. Three new Angels consultants report on the start of their mission to change outcomes for stroke patients in their countries.

Portalegre lies so deep in the Portuguese interior that nurses working in the district hospital compared it to “the Azores without the sea”. To connect this landlocked “island” to the mainland, Angels consultant Inês Carvalho would need to build a bridge – or two.

The last time the town of Most caught the world’s attention was the result of an epic feat of stamina and will. Now a team no less determined is putting Hospital Most on course for diamond status.

A state-of-the-art simulation centre at the biggest hospital in the Baltics has made the city of Kaunas synonymous with stroke care quality improvement in Central Europe.

A tale of three hospitals in Portugal’s Centro region is a vote of confidence for a quality monitoring initiative, Melhora Quem Sabe (“better who knows”), that seeks to deliver data-driven improvement to the country’s stroke units.