If you have not been to the clinic before the nurse will take you into the treatment room. She will measure your height, weight and blood pressure.
The doctors in the clinic collect a lot of information about you. They will usually enter this information into a computer on their desk during your appointment. This information allows them to advise on your treatment. However, it can also be useful to increase our knowledge about strokes which might help future patients.
The doctor or nurse will call out your name and invite you into one of the clinic rooms. You will be invited to take a family member or friend into the consultation if you wish.
The doctor seeing you will introduce themselves. You will see either the consultant or one of the Specialist Registrars who is training in stroke medicine.
The doctor may have a medical student in the clinic with them. You should be asked if you are comfortable with this. If you are not, the doctor will ask them to leave.
The doctor will ask you to describe the symptoms you have noticed and they will ask questions about your:
- past illnesses
- tablets
- family’s medical history
- your lifestyle (i.e. alcohol and smoking consumption)
During the consultation
Depending upon your symptoms the doctor may ask you to remove some of your clothing to examine you. The doctor will often ask to take some blood to test. The tests will usually include tests for:
- anaemia
- sugar
- cholesterol
After that the doctor will explain what he/she thinks caused your symptoms, what further tests might be useful and what treatment might be helpful.
They might also ask whether you might wish to take part in one of several research projects which the department are carrying out.
