In general, strategies in which most patients were scanned immediately cost least and achieved the most QALYs, as the cost of providing CT (even out of hours) was less than the cost of inpatient care. Increasing independent survival by even a small proportion through early use of aspirin in the majority with ischaemic stroke, avoiding aspirin in those with haemorrhagic stroke, and appropriate early management of those who have not had a stroke, reduced costs and increased QALYs. Sensitivity analyses to vary the cost of scanning, different age ranges, proportions of infarcts, haemorrhages or tumours/infections, accuracy of CT, utility weights, and length of stay assumptions did not alter the ranking of strategies. However, although, the model was sensitive to reducing the cost of inpatient care, scan all immediately remained the dominant strategy.