Report: Stroke patients needlessly dying

Thousands of stroke patients die needlessly because they cannot get access to vital treatment, a damning report has found.

The country’s first national audit of stroke care, launched today, reveals gross deficiencies in services which it claims are either ad hoc or simply non-existent.

Each year 10,000 Irish people suffer the condition, 2,500 of whom die, yet just one hospital out of 37 has a fully resourced stroke unit.

The Irish Heart Foundation said up to 500 people could be saved every year if hospitals were fitted with stroke units and it is calling on the Government to take action.

“This report proves what we in the medical profession felt to be true – that people are dying unnecessarily from stroke because they cannot access optimal treatment in time,” the Foundation’s Medical Director Dr Brian Maurer said.

“We know that 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.”

The audit revealed there are only 12 stroke unit beds nationwide, meaning that for every 33 patients there is only one available in the country.

Only 5% of patients are admitted to hospital within two hours of stroke coming on.

In addition, it found provision of thrombolysis – treatment to break up abnormal blood clots – is almost non-existent at just 1%.

Dr Maurer said that if a person suffers a stroke, the quality of care 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,” Dr Maurer said.

“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.”

The Irish Heart Foundation said an audit should be carried out every three years to monitor developments in stroke care and has called for the roll-out of stroke units nationally.