Connie is 67 years old, widowed and lives alone. Today she was found collapsed at home by her daughter.
Her daughter called 999 as Connie was FAST positive and stroke was suspected. On arrival at the hospital she was examined and a CT of her brain was ordered.
She has now had a CT scan which has confirmed a cerebral infarct.
Connie also has a history of heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
Part 1 – Early Assessment
In this section, you will be working through a number of tasks to ensure that Connie’s food, fluid and nutrition needs are assessed and identified. This will ensure that Connie receives the best possible start to her stroke care, minimises her complications and gives her the optimal chance of recovery. Swallow screening should be carried out on 100% of stroke patients within 4 hours of admission (Scottish Stroke Care Audit Standard, available at: strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/Quality/Scottish_Stroke_Care_Standards.html)
Part 2 – Early Management
In this section, you will go on to assess Connie’s swallowing ability, her nutrition and fluid needs in detail. This includes the swallow screening procedure, assessment of her nutritional needs, the introduction of specialised diets and the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Framework and the management of the environmental factors along with methods that can be used to increase and supplement Connie’s food and fluid intake.
Page last reviewed: 04 Oct 2021
