A stroke is a medical emergency: call 999 if you notice signs such as a face drooping on one side, weakness in one arm or slurred speech. Treatment in the first hours may include medicine to dissolve a blood clot (thrombolysis) or a procedure to remove it (thrombectomy).
Ambulances take people with a suspected stroke to a hospital with a specialist stroke unit. In some areas this is a hyperacute stroke unit (HASU) for the first days, followed by a stroke unit closer to home. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) gives every team a level from A to E each quarter, based on how well it meets national standards.
Hospitals in the South West
10 stroke teams in the South West with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
| Stroke team | Volume bandStroke patients, January to March 2026 (SSNAP) | Key outcomeSSNAP level (A to E) | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derriford HospitalStroke team · NHS · University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust | 150 to 249241 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 52.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Derriford Hospital) |
| Dorset County HospitalStroke team · NHS · Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 149118 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level CScore 60 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Dorset County Hospital) |
| Great Western HospitalStroke team · NHS · Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249171 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 27.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Great Western Hospital) |
| Musgrove Park HospitalStroke team · NHS · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249169 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 48.7 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Musgrove Park Hospital) |
| North Devon District HospitalStroke team · NHS · Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 149113 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 47.5 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for North Devon District Hospital) |
| Royal Cornwall HospitalStroke team · NHS · Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust | 150 to 249215 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 29.7 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.1 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Royal Cornwall Hospital) |
| Royal United Hospital BathStroke team · NHS · Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249178 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level DScore 41.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.5 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Royal United Hospital Bath) |
| Salisbury District HospitalStroke team · NHS · Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 14982 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 26.1 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Salisbury District Hospital) |
| Torbay HospitalStroke team · NHS · Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust | 150 to 249168 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 32.1 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Requires improvement (CQC report for Torbay Hospital) |
| Yeovil District HospitalStroke team · NHS · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | 75 to 149113 stroke patients in January to March 2026 (one quarter) | Level EScore 36.2 out of 100Levels by area of care
More measures
| Not applicable (emergency care) | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.2 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | No Approved Rating (CQC report for Yeovil District Hospital) |
How stroke teams across England, Wales and Northern Ireland were placed in this quarter: A - 0 teams (0.0%); B - 17 teams (7.9%); C - 20 teams (9.3%); D - 117 teams (54.7%); E - 60 teams (28.0%).
How to read this
- Not a ranking. The table is in alphabetical order. A higher volume does not on its own mean better care, and we do not combine the columns into a score.
- Volume bands. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 172 stroke teams in the SSNAP January to March 2026 results in the published table, rounded. So about a quarter of stroke teams in the SSNAP January to March 2026 results fall in each band. The exact number is shown under the band.
- Risk adjustment. Where a figure says “adjusted”, the audit has allowed for differences in the patients each hospital treats, such as age and other illnesses. Hospitals that take on more complex cases can still look different for reasons the adjustment does not capture.
- Bands and limits. We only say a result is higher or lower than expected when the source itself says so (for example NJR outlier status, NELA funnel limits, SSNAP levels, CQC survey bands). Where the source publishes a rate without limits we show the rate and the national figure, and say “No banding published”.
- Small numbers. A small hospital can have 0% or a high percentage by chance. Figures the source suppresses are shown as “Not published (small numbers)”.
- Trust or hospital. Volumes and outcomes here are for each hospital or team, but waiting times and the CQC inpatient survey are for the whole trust.
- Different periods. Each figure has its own period, shown next to it. Audit results describe operations done one to three years ago; waiting times are updated monthly.
- Talk to your GP or consultant about what the figures mean for you. If you are referred for planned care in England, you can usually choose your hospital.
Full definitions: methodology and data dictionary.
Data sources and licences
- Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) Full Results Portfolio, January to March 2026, SSNAP (King's College London) for HQIP. Source: Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
- CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025 (trust benchmark results), Care Quality Commission. Source: Care Quality Commission, NHS Patient Survey Programme, Adult Inpatient Survey 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC ratings, Care Quality Commission. CQC ratings: Care Quality Commission. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Healthcare-associated infections: annual counts and rates by trust (financial year 2025 to 2026), UK Health Security Agency. Source: UK Health Security Agency, healthcare-associated infection annual data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
Data last updated 26 October 2026. We do not change the published figures; we only group volumes into bands. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Sources
We checked this guide against these official pages on 26 October 2026.
- Stroke (NHS website)
- Treatment for a stroke (NHS website)
- Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme results (data.gov.uk) (SSNAP)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.