Dr McBride was speaking at a conference hosted by the NI Chest Heart and Stroke Association in Belfast today.
Detailing plans for ‘Improving Stroke Services in Northern Ireland’ which is currently out for consultation, Dr McBride said: “Around 4,000 people suffer a stroke each year in Northern Ireland. 1,300 of these people will die in the first month following stroke. And a further 1,300 will suffer long term disability, with major impact on their own lives and on the lives of their families and carers.”
Dr McBride added: “Much work involving many agencies has been done in recent years to develop a regional stroke strategy and much more requires to be done. There are still major challenges ahead.
“But there are things that we also as individuals can do. Although stroke is not exclusively a disease of older people the risk increases with age. It is caused by a range of risk factors, some of which relate to existing health problems. The percentage of the population who smoke, are overweight, drink to excess and don’t take recommended levels of exercise are still too high,” he added.
“Renewed public awareness, additional funding, specialist and community services and medical support will all help us to address these issues.”
The draft stroke strategy document ‘Improving Stroke Services in Northern Ireland’ aims to reduce the occurrence of stroke, raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke, ensure stroke is treated as an emergency and there is equitable access to evidence based care, for example stroke unit care. It also aims to provide person-centred multi-disciplinary, multi-agency care and with more effective support for carers of stroke survivors.
Notes to Editors:
- The draft Strategy was issued for public consultation on 29 November 2007, with the publication of an ‘easy access’ version developed by Speechmatters in February 2008.
- In conjunction with Speechmatters and NICHSA a series of focus group discussions with stroke patients and their carers have taken place across the four Health and Social Services Boards. The consultation period is due for completion on 28 March 2008.
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