Plea over new stroke strategy in North
A new stroke strategy for the North needs to be more specific in some of its objectives, it was claimed today.
Northern health minister Michael McGimpsey is to consider a new list of recommendations submitted by the Chest Heart and Stroke Association.
They include proposals for speedier diagnosis and fast admission to a dedicated Stroke unit.
Public consultation on the minister’s proposals end today, but the CHS believes they fall short in many of their objectives.
Chief executive Andrew Dougal who has been to Stormont to pass on more than 250 letters from members of the public agreeing with the charity organisation’s recommendations said: “Stroke is the single biggest cause of disability in Northern Ireland, and in order to reduce the toll will require much greater urgency of treatment.”
As well as calling for speedier diagnosis and faster admission to a dedicated Stroke Unit, there are demands for round-the-clock access to MRI and CT scans and clot busting drugs to be made available for those who need them.
They have also called for better support to be given to the families of stroke victims in addition to better psychological support for stroke survivors.
Northern health minister Michael McGimpsey has already set a target that four out of five stroke survivors will spend at least 50% of their time in hospital in a dedicated stroke unit by 2010.
But these targets are not good enough according to experts and NICHS is lobbying for stroke patients to spend at least 75% of their time in a dedicated stroke unit by 2011, rising to 95% of hospital stay by 2012.
Mr Dougal said: “While we don’t disagree with any of the recommendations, we believe that the should be more specific, particularly when it comes to ensuring that staff are trained to diagnose stroke at the earliest possible opportunity. Lost time amounts to lost recovery, and the overriding aim should be to do everything possible to ensure the most complete recovery possible under the circumstances.”
He added: “The minister has the best opportunity in more than a generation to improve care for stroke survivors and it’s vitally important that we get it right.
