Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

They are fragmented and poor. In particular, on the issue of strokes, there was a report compiled for the Irish Heart Foundation by the ESRI and the RCSI entitled Towards Earlier Discharge, Better Outcomes, Lower Cost: Stroke Rehabilitation in Ireland. It clearly shows that the savings from reduced hospital costs would outstrip the cost of early supported discharge. The difficulty, that the research clearly showed, is that community rehabilitation services in Ireland are appalling, with one in three discharged stroke survivors having no access to physiotherapy, half getting no speech and language therapy or occupational therapy and just one in ten having any psychological service despite the huge mental health impact a stroke can have on a person. This is something that is backed up by the Neurological Association of Ireland on many of the neurological conditions. I ask the Minister if he accepts the findings of this report and what plans are being developed to implement a national supported early discharge programme for stroke survivors in Ireland.

I wished to raise the issue of obesity as well, but I will have to do that another day.