This talk explores the critical early stages of stroke care, from recognising the warning signs to delivering life-saving emergency treatment. Learn how rapid identification and prehospital care can significantly improve outcomes, followed by an overview of hospital-based interventions including thrombolysis, thrombectomy, and specialist stroke unit care.
Date: Thursday 21 May 2026
Venue: Lecture Theatre1, Academic Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU. Please view a map of the site here.
Parking: Details on parking are available on the Oxford University Hospitals website.
Agenda:
6:30 CPR and defib demonstrations – Foyer 3, Academic Centre
7:00 Welcome and introduction: Damian Haywood, Oxford City Public Governor, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
7:10 Professor Gary A Ford, CBE, FMedSci
7:20 Dr Kirubananthan Nagaratnam
7:40 Q&A
8:00 End
To find out more and book:
Email: ouhmembers@ouh.nhs.uk
Telephone: 01865 231472
Biographies
Professor Gary A Ford, CBE, FMedSci
- Chief Executive Officer, Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley
- Consultant Physician, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Professor of Stroke Medicine, University of Oxford
- Governing Body Fellow, Green Templeton College, Oxford
Gary is a consultant stroke physician at Oxford University Hospitals and Royal Berkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts. He is also Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Oxford and has been Chief Executive of Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley since its formation as the Oxford Academic Health Science Network in 2013. He has led the adoption of innovation in stroke care for many years including developing FAST (Face Arm Speech Test) and developing the first rapid ambulance protocol for stroke. Gary was Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) stroke research network from 2005-2013. He became a non-executive director on the board of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in April 2021.
Dr K Nagaratnam
- Consultant Stroke Physician and Geriatrician
- Clinical Lead for Stroke Medicine, Royal Berkshire NHSFT
- Associate Medical Director for Wider System Working, Royal Berkshire NHSFT
- Clinical Lead (Acute), Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ISDN
Dr Kiruba Nagaratnam is a stroke physician and geriatrician. He is the Clinical Lead for Stroke Medicine at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Stroke Delivery Network. He leads a high-performing stroke service with a thrombolysis rate consistently twice the national average. In 2021, he led the successful implementation of AI imaging software into the stroke pathway at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and was instrumental in scaling up the technology across hospitals in the Thames Valley region, which became the first AI-enabled stroke network in the UK. He has also worked with the Health Innovation Network Oxford and Thames Valley to undertake the largest real-world evaluation of stroke AI technology in the world and co-authored the publication of the results in The Lancet Digital Health in 2025.