World Stroke Day 2026: Using audit data to support better stroke care

29 Oct 2026

On World Stroke Day, 29 October 2026, we are highlighting how national clinical audit can support the prevention of stroke and help improve care and outcomes for people who experience one.

World Stroke Day raises awareness of stroke and the importance of recognising the signs and seeking emergency care quickly. It also provides an opportunity to look at what the health system can learn from data about stroke prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and longer-term support.

The HQIP-commissioned Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) measures stroke care across the pathway and provides healthcare teams with data to understand how care compares, where variation exists, and where there may be opportunities for improvement.

Its recent Atlas of Variation Report 2026 brings together regional data on stroke admissions, age, therapy, and other aspects of care, alongside predicted future stroke incidence and opportunities for prevention. Rather than assuming all variation is unwarranted, the report encourages clinical leaders to use enriched stroke data to explore the reasons behind differences and identify potential solutions.

This evidence matters across the whole stroke pathway. In our recent article, From data to safer care: the role of stroke audit in improving quality of care, we explored how national clinical audit can help identify variation, support learning, and drive safer care. In stroke, where rapid diagnosis and effective rehabilitation can make the difference between a good recovery and lifelong disability, having robust evidence about the care patients receive is crucial.

Prevention is an equally important part of the picture. Our article on Finding the missing millions: Driving improvements in cardiovascular disease prevention considers how identifying and managing cardiovascular risk earlier can help prevent strokes and other serious complications.

World Stroke Day is a timely reminder of the importance of action across the whole stroke pathway, from prevention and rapid treatment to rehabilitation and longer-term care. National clinical audit provides evidence to support learning and improvement across that pathway. Find out more through our neurology and stroke section, which brings together further reports, news and resources.

Find out more

• Atlas of Variation Report 2026, Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP)
• Article: From data to safer care: the role of stroke audit in improving quality of care
• Article: Finding the missing millions: Driving improvements in cardiovascular disease prevention
• Neurology and stroke care section, bringing together the latest reports, news and other content relating to this area of care.