Community stories

An Angels consultant’s flair for drama put this hospital in the limelight, but the main characters were always the patients. This is how it played out.

Some moments, especially our “firsts”, are often vastly more meaningful than others, probably because they signify change, writes Angels global project lead Jan van der Merwe in the latest edition of the Angels Journey.

Angels consultant Eleni Panoutsopoulou wanted the first Angels Day in Greece to start a conversation.

They are a team with a dream. Led by the national coordinator Prof Cristina Tiu, neurologists Dr Elena Oana Terecoasă and Dr Răzvan Radu from the Bucharest Emergency University Hospital (SUUB) together with Dr Vlad Tiu from the Elias Bucharest University Emergency Hospital earned their reputation as a “dream team” by participating in training hundreds of healthcare professionals in stroke care and inspiring stroke hospitals and teams in and beyond Romania. Their dedication, leadership and drive for change were recognised at ESOC 2023 in Munich, where they were awarded the ESO Angels Spirit of Excellence Award.

“I felt prepared. I had my ‘mental’ checklist, I was ready to proceed.” This is how a neurologist in Italy’s Salerno province describes her first experience of thrombolysis more than 13 years ago. After this bold beginning came a series of challenges, but the light at the end of the tunnel sparkled with the brilliance of a diamond award.

In 2018, three nurses at the Regional University Hospital of Málaga were assigned the task of reviewing protocols in their newly refurbished stroke unit. The solution they came up with has revolutionised post-acute stroke care in their region and will soon be implemented in hospitals around the world. This is their story.