Ischaemic stroke patients at a Victorian hospital are being transferred for mechanical thrombectomy in less than an hour thanks to a project initiated by the lead neurologist and lead nurse.

Dr Philip Choi and Tanya Frost, in collaboration with a range of staff at Box Hill Hospital, have succeeded in reducing the door-in-door-out time from 111 minutes to 67 minutes over four years — shortening the process by 14% per year.

The three fastest times recorded were 25 minutes, 38 minutes and 40 minutes from a patient’s arrival in ED for triage to leaving in an ambulance for a comprehensive stroke centre, the authors write in Stroke.

The project launched in March 2015 when Dr Choi and Ms Frost decided to meet once a week to scrutinise every acute stroke case transferred for potential mechanical thrombectomy.