National service framework for coronary heart disease: audit of English hospitals.

The national service framework for coronary heart disease gives priority to reducing delays in the delivery of thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction, aiming to achieve a “call to needle time” (from the initial call for help to treatment) of 60 minutes and a “door to needle time” (from arrival at the hospital to treatment) of 20 minutes or less by April 2003. We audited the delivery of thrombolysis in all acute hospitals in England.