Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of stroke survivors and the non-availability of rehabilitation facilities for them. An audit was carried out recently by the Irish Heart Foundation, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive's national stroke programme. Unfortunately, it revealed a bleak picture of the services available for thousands of people battling to recover as a result of a stroke. Thankfully, I am glad to report more people are surviving strokes. They are not, however, getting the best chance of survival because of the poor state of some of our therapy services. The after-effects for stroke patients deteriorated last year for the first time since the creation of the national stroke programme.

The audit found several interesting statistics. Almost three quarters of rehabilitation hospitals cannot give stroke survivors the recommended level of therapy. Only one in four rehab hospitals has a dedicated stroke unit. The majority of hospitals lack a stroke specialist to oversee rehabilitation. Fewer than one in three has any access to psychological services. The majority of the 26 hospitals which participated in the study have no access to community rehabilitation teams to continue therapy essential to aid recovery for patients who were discharged. We have only half the acute stroke unit beds needed to meet international standards and an even lower proportion of specialist rehab beds.

What makes this information critical is that the incidence of stroke in Ireland is rising by 350 cases per year. Clearly, the national stroke programme needs to be urgently updated, along with the proper provision of resources to meet the needs of survivors to give them the best chance of possible survival. Will the Leader bring this to the attention of the Minister for Health?