“Delaying stroke reform means that people die who need not have died and many people end up having to live with much greater levels of disability than should have been the case.”
That was the stark message from health charity, Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS), following a meeting of the All Party Group on Stroke at Stormont today.
Neil Johnston, NICHS Public Affairs and Policy Manager, called on the Health Minister to press on with changing services. “Improving stroke services has been under discussion for five years and it is long past time for getting on with change. We appreciate the challenges that constantly face the health service and clearly COVID-19 was hugely disruptive. We must however show leadership in order to deliver better services. This is not about money; it is about a failure to provide leadership.”
“We have seen some small improvements. The thrombectomy service for instance is an outstanding example. It has had a huge impact on many patients and is an area in which Northern Ireland has really led the way in the UK.”
Neil continues; “We now need to make the big decisions on where our centres of excellence are going to be and put plans in place to ensure we can deliver them over time. Everyone knows that we cannot achieve everything overnight and that resources are stretched but what we are currently seeing is simply prevarication and delay.”
