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Over the last 20 years, England, Wales and Northern Ireland have developed an audit programme that now encompasses nearly all patients admitted to hospital with a stroke. This article records and reviews some questions that have been answered using data from the audit:

• Is the rate of institutional care after rehabilitation a possible measure of outcome?
• Does stroke unit care in routine practice give the benefits shown in randomized controlled trials?
• How is the quality of stroke care affected by a patient’s age and the time of their stroke?
• Do patient-reported measures match those obtained from the professionals recording of processes of care?
• How do the processes of care after stroke affect mortality?
• Is thrombolysis safe to use in patients over the age of 80?
• Do staffing levels matter?
• Does assessing the safety of swallowing really make a difference?
• Do clinicians make rational decisions about end-of-life care in …