Table 1 Characteristics of the sample.
| (A) National audit and patient survey | (B) National audit but not patient survey | (C) Patient survey but not national audit | (D) National audit patients in sites not in patient survey | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 1042 | n = 680 | n = 1687 | n = 3625 | |
| Gender, % (n) male | 52 (547) | 48 (327) | 52 (885) | 51 (1851) |
| Age | ||||
| Median (IQR) | 74 (65–82) | 77 (67–83) | 75 (65–82) | 76 (66–83) |
| % (n) ⩾75 years | 50 (520) | 56 (382) | 51 (863) | 53 (1934) |
| IMD 2000†, median (IQR) n | 19 (11–34) n = 953 | 21 (12–36) n = 1585 | ||
| LOS in hospital | ||||
| Patient survey, mean (median) | 24.4 (13) | 20.5 (13) | ||
| National audit, mean (median) | 27.2 (14) | 37.0 (23) | 31.6 (18) | |
| Ethnic group, % (n) non‐white | 7 (67/923) | 6 (84/1476) | ||
| Stroke audit 2004, % (n) | ||||
| Treated in stroke unit | 61 (637) | 59 (402) | Not applicable | 51 (1841) |
| Spent most of stay in a stroke unit | 55 (577) | 50 (337) | 45 (1616) | |
| Pre‐stroke independent housing/warden controlled | 95 (990) | 93 (635) | 94 (3413) | |
| Discharge independent housing/warden controlled | 82 (847/1031) | 75 (495/663) | 76 (2713/3553) | |
| Three or more comorbidities* | 22 (232) | 22 (151) | 21 (774) | |
| On medication before admission | 68 (704/1031) | 66 (439/669) | 69 (2484/3612) | |
| Independent Barthel score of 20 at discharge | 40 (349/881) | 29 (166/563) | 38 (1117/2930) | |
| At time of maximum severity, % (n) | ||||
| Orientated and could talk | 72 (716/998) | 66 (417/635) | 68 (2322/3393) | |
| Able to walk without help | 38 (362/947) | 30 (190/630) | 33 (1108/3352) | |
| Fully conscious | 86 (892/1036) | 78 (520/670) | 81 (2898/3590) | |
IQR, interquartile range; LOS, length of stay.
*Atrial fibrillation, previous stroke/transient ischaemic attack, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, myocardial infarction/angina, vascular disease, valvular heart disease.
†The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 (IMD2000) is a composite index of relative deprivation at small area level, based on six domains of deprivation: income; employment; geographical access to services; health and disability; education, skills and training; and housing. Higher scores represent greater levels of deprivation.