Changing occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice through guidelines and audit in the United Kingdom

<jats:p> Background: The National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke (NCGS) were produced and three rounds of the National Sentinel Audit of Stroke conducted to improve the quality of stroke care in the UK. </jats:p><jats:p> Objective: To compare the results of the occupational therapy and physiotherapy elements of the most recent national sentinel audit with the occupational therapy-and physiotherapy-specific recommendations of the NCGS. </jats:p><jats:p> Methods: Retrospective case-note audit. </jats:p><jats:p> Results: Over 95% of hospitals/sites who manage stroke in England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the most recent round of the sentinel audit. The clinical audit took place from 1 April to 30 June 2001 and incorporated 235 hospitals/sites. The organizational audit took place in January 2002 and incorporated 240 hospitals/sites. Data are presented from the 235 with both clinical and organizational data, under the headings of: approaches to rehabilitation; carers/families; rehabilitation interventions; and transfer to the community. Low rates of compliance with national standards were observed for all domains. </jats:p><jats:p> Conclusion: Our findings suggest that occupational therapists and physiotherapists are not fully complying with the national standards for stroke care. </jats:p>