National Audit of Stroke Care: main points

Irish stroke care is inadequate, poorly organised and does not come close to best practice by international standards

• Only one of 37 hospitals has a fully resourced stroke unit, even though they are known to improve reduce mortality and disability

• Its likely 350 to 500 deaths a year could be saved if stroke unit care was introduced in the Republic

• Thrombolysis, a recognised clot busting therapy following stroke onset, is not available routinely in any Irish hospital. It ought to be accessible nationally to all patients with stroke

• The proportion of patients getting to hospital within two hours of a stroke is substantially lower in the Republic than in the UK, with only 5 per cent being admitted within two hours here compared to 39 per cent in the UK

• The extremely poor access to rapid brain scans following a stroke in the Republic is striking with only 4 per cent of patients scanned within three hours of admission to hospital

• A minority of patients had their diagnosis and prognosis discussed with them or their families

• Many stroke patients do not have the benefit of timely access to assessment and intervention by allied health professionals like speech and language therapists

• Community based rehabilitation services are seriously inadequate and non-existent in many areas

• There is little or no organised system of care for the prevention and management of stroke in primary care in the Republic

• A public awareness campaign is needed to promote cardiovascular health and rapid recognition and response when a stroke is suspected

• There is an urgent need for investment in stroke services in Ireland as some 10,000 people a year are admitted to hospital here with stroke as their primary diagnosis

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times