Temporal trends of ambulance time intervals for suspected stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: a quasi-experimental study.

A 'shock' like a pandemic has a negative impact on the prehospital phase of care for time-sensitive conditions like stroke/TIA. System evaluation and public awareness campaigns are required to ensure maintenance of prehospital stroke pathways amidst future healthcare crises. Thus, this research is relevant to routine and extraordinary prehospital service planning.