Woman, 60, hails unit for ‘striking’ stroke recovery
A dedicated acute stroke unit, part of the re-organisation of Bantry General Hospital, was one of the first to be established in the country.
Mary Dowling was admitted two-and-a-half years ago, paralysed on her left side and without speech. She spent three months in the new stroke unit and, within six months, left with the aid of a hospital.
Greeting Health Minister James Reilly at the official opening of the facility last night, mother of three Ms Dowling said: “I owe my life to this hospital.
“The care was unbelievable from the doctors and nurses, along with the support network of speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
“I was out for lunch with my family when the stroke came on. I never thought I would have a normal life again. That was my biggest fear.
“I can’t really praise the hospital enough, I feel great. The critical thing was, if Bantry hospital wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be here today. I would never have made it to Cork, well over 60 miles away from my home,” the Glengarriff woman said.
“The new unit and the hospital are such an asset to West Cork.”
The hospital’s consultant geriatrician, Brian Carey, said the unit handles up to 100 stroke patients annually.
“It has already led to substantially improved patient outcomes and enhanced patient access to multidisciplinary team members and CT scanning,” he said.
“Despite a 13% increase in acute stroke admissions since it was set up, the total number of beds days used declined by 35% and approximately 1,400 beds days have been saved.”
The outcome of the hospital’s reorganisation was equivalent, he said, to an annual saving of €1.2 million on the local budget.
Mr Reilly said the results achieved in Bantry are extraordinary and said a continued roll-out of the new units across the country was assured.
West Cork SOS, an ambulance support group which is trying to ensure that the region’s four ambulances are not cut, held a quiet and dignified protest ahead of the minister’s arrival.
The scenes contrasted starkly with those in Tralee, Co Kerry, hours earlier when Mr Reilly and local TD, Jimmy Deenihan, were verbally attacked by a group of elderly protestors seeking a specialist facility for them at Kerry General Hospital.
“You’re a disgrace, Jimmy. You promised us at the door,” PJ Rohan, the son of the late Ellen Rohan, one of the original campaigners for the facility, shouted.
The Arts Minister who looked shaken said he had worked to open the hospital and “this was why I have brought Mr Reilly down here to meet you”.
The €10m community hospital has yet to open, three years after completion.
