Facilitated by the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, the awards were open to regional hospitals participating in the NSW Realising Improvement in Stroke program (RISE) stroke registry.

Orange Hospital Stroke Care co-ordinator Fiona Ryan said achieving gold status is testament to the team's commitment and dedication to improving stroke care.

"Stroke is a time-critical medical emergency. With each minute that goes by more brain cells can be lost and the risk of disability and death increase," Ms Ryan said.

"Acting swiftly on the signs of stroke and implementing best practice care requires coordination between ambulance, emergency department, radiology and stroke unit staff, and early access to rehabilitation.

"This has been our priority and it's wonderful to be recognised globally."

Orange Hospital treats about 150 strokes each year, and training, protocol and the performance of the hospital's stroke unit were assessed as part of the Angels initiative. That included meeting a target of restoring blood-flow to more than half of the eligible patients within an hour of their hospital arrival.

"In regional Australia, we have higher rates of stroke and contend with the challenge of providing access to expert care over long distances. Across the District we service 270,000 people across 250,000 square kilometres," Ms Ryan said.

"It's a great achievement to have more than 50 per cent of eligible patients receive clot-busting therapy within 60 minutes of arriving at Orange Hospital."

A major report by the Stroke Foundation highlights that people living in regional Australia are 17 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than those living in metropolitan areas.

"Achieving WSO Gold status was not possible without the incredible efforts of on-site staff, however data and technology also play an important role in modern stroke care," Ms Ryan said.

NSW Telestroke Service medical director Professor Ken Butcher said hospitals are benefitting from the service's roll-out. The NSW Telestroke Service is currently available in 12 hospitals, including Orange, and will expand to up to 23 sites by June 2022.

Telestroke provides 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week access to lifesaving stroke diagnoses and treatment, connecting local doctors to specialist stroke physicians via video consultation in the emergency department.

"Using Telestroke, our clinicians can deliver better outcomes for patients exhibiting signs of stroke by harnessing this cutting-edge technology - irrespective of location," Professor Butcher said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: