Secure Stroke Strategy Success Says NICHS

One of Northern Ireland's biggest causes of disability could be tackled better.

A leading medical charity has given the NI Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, a list of recommendations it believes is necessary if his proposed new strategy for dealing with strokes is to be a success.

NI Chest, Heart and Stroke (NICHS) believes the plan needs to be more specific in some of its objectives.

Just as a public consultation on the Minister's proposals ended, it is calling for speedier diagnosis and faster admission to a dedicated stroke unit as well as round-the-clock access to MRI and CT scans.

The charity is also seeking more timely provision of clot-busting drugs for those who need them and a more comprehensive support for the stroke-hit family as well as better psychological support for the stroke survivor.

The charity's Chief Executive, Andrew Dougal also said that he wants the Minister to be more ambitious in some of the targets he has set. He noted that one of his proposals aims for four out of five stroke survivors to spend at least 50% of their time in hospital in a stroke unit by 2010.

"NICHS believes every stroke patient should spend at least 75% of his or her hospital stay in a stroke unit by 2011, rising to 95% of hospital stay by 2012," he said.

Mr Dougal has been lobbying the Executive at Stormont to pass on more than 250 letters from members of the public which are agreeing with the NICHS recommendations.

He said: "The Minister has the best opportunity in more than a generation to improve care for stroke survivors and it’s vitally important that we now get it right.

"While we don’t disagree with any of the recommendations, we believe that they 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.

"Stroke is the single biggest cause of disability in Northern Ireland, and in order to reduce that toll will require much greater urgency of treatment.

"We also believe that the psychological anguish caused by the condition – for both patient and carer – needs to be addressed much more effectively than it is at present," he concluded.

(BMcC)