Study reveals 75% of stroke patients cannot access emergency rehab care

A MERE one in four Irish stroke patients can access emergency rehabilitative care, a study has shown.

In addition, the lack of a national stroke strategy, staff shortages and little communication between hospitals and community care givers, means stroke victims are dying unnecessarily as they can’t access the necessary services.

An Irish Heart Foundation audit of the country’s stroke services, due to be published today, reveals huge disparities in post-stroke recovery, with the level of access to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy service varying across the country.

In some parts of the country, there are year-long waiting lists while in other parts people are seen within weeks.

Up to 86% of GPs said a lack of staff, funding and time means they can’t ensure comprehensive stroke prevention techniques are implemented in their surgeries.

Almost half of GPs complained a lack of practice nurses was hindering the development of their stroke services.

Another 87% of GPs said the existing rehabilitation services were inadequate for their stroke patients.

In many instances, stroke victims aged 65 and over had better access to day hospital treatment through the services for older people.

In contrast, there are long waiting lists for the under-65s at the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

When interviewed by the report’s authors, specialist staff like occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists said budgetary constraints meant patients were not getting treatment fast enough.

Local health office managers said there is a distinct lack of coordination between primary care teams and hospitals, with some parts of the country offering stroke liaison officers and others providing nothing.

Professionals working in the sector said there was no clear treatment pathway for patients.

They also complained multi-disciplinary care was not in place for stroke victims and so they were losing out on the “team” approach.

Medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation Dr Brian Maurer said the report confirmed what professionals working in the field already know — that stroke services in Ireland are “appalling”.

Dr Maurer said: “This report proves what we in the medical profession felt to be true — that people are dying unnecessarily from stroke because they cannot access the optimal treatment in time.

“We know services for stroke victims are largely ineffective but thanks to the determination of the Irish Heart Foundation, we now have statistics to prove it — and the truth is frightening.

“If a person has a stroke tomorrow, the reality is the quality of care they receive is determined by chance, location and a haphazard combination of circumstances.

“Stroke units are virtually non-existent and only a tiny fraction of people is assessed for suitability to receive potentially life-saving interventions such as thrombolysis.

“Worse still, acute rehabilitation is only available to one in four patients, which is why so many survivors of stroke are left with avoidable and unduly prolonged disability.”