James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again for raising this issue because it is unacceptable that it has taken two years to open this unit. Every other unit in the country has opened. The consequence of that is that we have gone from the bottom of the league in Europe to the top regarding the administration of thrombolysis, the blood clot busting drug that has saved so many lives. Moreover, the current statistics show we are saving virtually a life a day and saving three people from going into long-term care.

There has been an extraordinary improvement in outcomes for people with stroke as a consequence of these stroke units, and the Deputy is correct that it is not just about the presence of a CT scan or of thrombolysis. Having a dedicated unit with dedicated staff who become very experienced in the various nuances of dealing with people with stroke improves the outcomes also. I am aware that President Obama's health spokesman mentioned this, at an international conference in Oregon last year, as one of the areas where significant improvement has been achieved despite that country being in the face of a serious economic recession.

The people who work in our stroke units have done a phenomenal job in an extraordinarily short period, improving outcomes for people, and the people of Cork are entitled to the same service. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, I fail to understand why it is that the Mercy University Hospital has its unit in place and Cork University Hospital still does not. I will be meeting Mr. Ian Carter, the new director of hospital services, today and I will raise this subject with him. It is unacceptable it could take this length of time, when we know a large number of nurses have said they are leaving this country because they cannot get work, to recruit nurses for Cork University Hospital. It will be dealt with.

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