Vol. 549 No. 1
34 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children his response to the proposal of the Irish Heart Foundation that stroke units should be developed in every general hospital by 2004 in view of the fact that stroke units reduce death and severe disability by 25%. [5851/02]
Last summer I met representatives of the Irish Heart Foundation's council on stroke regarding its proposals for the development of stroke units to provide patients with dedicated specialists in-stroke care, an associated interdisciplinary team, appropriate diagnostic technology and a clearly defined continuum of care. I indicated I was very interested in the proposals and accordingly it was agreed that the council further develop and cost their proposals with a view to the establishment of a pilot programme in the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Southern Health Board areas.
In January I received an outline submission from the Irish Heart Foundation which is being considered by my officials in the context of the cardiovascular strategy framework, Building Healthier Hearts, Primary Care – A New Direc tion, Quality & Fairness – a health system for you, and the recently completed, National Review of Acute Hospital Bed Capacity. When this process is complete my Department will issue a response to the Irish Heart Foundation. I hope to be able to make a favourable response to the work of the foundation. It made an outline submission to the Secretary General and me last month.
I am concerned that the Department does not allocate funding for preventative medicine and I am disappointed that a western location was not chosen by the Minister for this pilot scheme because, by and large, the greater number of strokes occur in the west. The Irish Heart Foundation has said that the incidence of strokes would be reduced by 25% if these facilities were available. In view of this, why did the Minister not sanction investigations in each of the health board areas? It is something we sought.
We may do that but it is not the major issue. Last summer I met the chairman and vice-chairman of the Irish Hearth Foundation's council on stroke to explore the possibility of developing stroke units. They presented me with various concepts and suggested that pilot projects be undertaken initially to ensure that the right kind of programme was developed. Following that they undertook to make proposals on how multi-disciplinary stroke units might be developed. They have now made a submission.
I have ascertained the position in the west but it should be noted that cardiac facilities are especially well developed in the eastern region.
That is no help to people in the west.
In Galway a major development is under way and it is possible that a facility might be developed in Limerick. The purpose of my meeting with the Irish Heart Foundation's council on stroke was to ensure that a stroke unit would be established in the major hospitals of every health board area.
I do not wish to introduce a note of levity but in my experience the Minister knows a great deal about strokes. Is he aware that according to the Irish Heart Foundation, every year stroke kills more people in Ireland than breast cancer, bowel cancer and lung cancer combined? Does he agree that the first emphasis in terms of development should be on the provision of stroke units? The United Kingdom has put in train a policy to develop a stroke unit in every general hospital by 2004. Is the Minister aware that the Irish Heart Foundation would like to see a policy to develop a stroke unit in every general hospital in Ireland over the next four years and that this simple measure is effective in saving lives and preventing disability? Only 14 patients need to be treated for one extra to return home. To put it another way, the stroke units reduce death and severe disability by 25%. Does the Minister agree that is the case and will he confirm that he will put in place a programme similar to that in the UK?
I would not know anything about political strokes. In the past two years alone, 800 extra people have been employed by the health service under the cardiovascular strategy. All are health care professionals involved in what may be termed preventative areas. They include smoking cessation officers and dieticians. They are working at trying to build and change patterns of behaviour in society. That is a clear investment in terms of preventative measures.
Primary care is to the forefront in terms of prevention. This year we will fund an initiative under the cardiovascular strategy to deal with cardiovascular difficulties and how people can take preventative steps in the normal course of their lives. The primary care infrastructure we are developing, especially GP co-operatives, which will give greater 24 hour access to patients and the general public, and the concept of multi-disciplinary primary care team units, outlined in the national health strategy, is the way forward. These will help to ensure that blood pressure and cholesterol checks become a feature of people's regular routine on a six monthly or annual basis. That is not the case at the moment. Many people do not attend their doctors as often as they should.
