570 die each year due to lack of stroke care

By Eilish O’Regan Health Correspondent
Wednesday April 09 2008

Up to 570 people are needlessly dying of stroke here every year and thousands are suffering disability because services are so poor, a major report revealed yesterday.

Only one Irish hospital has a proper full stroke unit despite the fact that it is the third leading cause of death and disability, killing more people in Ireland than lung cancer, breast or bowel cancer. The shocking findings of a major national audit on stroke services here revealed how a lack of stroke units is leading to 500 needless deaths and another 70 are dying for want of clot-busting drugs.

Tallaght hospital geriatrician Dr Des O’Neill, who led the investigation, warned the findings were a source of serious concern.

He said that proper stroke units would allow all patients to be looked after by trained nurses who would be alert for life-threatening clots and swallowing disorders.

– Eilish O’Regan Health Correspondent