EVENT: Major conference on stroke taking place in the Premier County next week

A major conference on stroke is taking place at the Talbot Hotel, Clonmel, on Monday, June 26 from 9:30am to 1:30pm.

Organised by the South Tipperary Stroke Communication Group, the Conference will be addressed by health professionals, stroke survivors and advocates and by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Mary Butler, conference organiser and stroke survivor Martin Quinn says that it is a key event for anyone that has suffered a stroke and for those who are living with a disability as a result.

“The purpose of this event is to promote awareness around stroke, aphasia and brain injury. The number of strokes in Ireland has increased by a quarter and we need to look at services and supports that promote recovery and wellbeing among stroke survivors.

“As well as being Ireland’s third biggest killer disease, stroke is the biggest cause of acquired disability. Given that stroke is a brain attack, the psychological impact can be devastating and this needs to be addressed both in the hospital system and in the community where stroke survivors continue to suffer tremendously.

"With the stroke rate predicted to rise by 59% by 2035, it’s vital that the National Stroke Strategy is implemented in full to meet current needs and to begin futureproofing services to meet the tsunami of stroke cases coming in the years ahead. Therefore a Conference like this is a very important event to focus on the key issues affecting stroke survivors and their carers,” says Martin.

Along with Minister Mary Butler, one of the key speakers at the Conference will be Professor Rónán Collins, Consultant Physician in Geriatric and Stroke Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital and the National Clinical Lead for Stroke. While much progress has been made in stroke care internationally and nationally over the last ten years or so, Professor Collins says that we have very significant challenges facing us in Ireland with our demography, changing population centres, shortage of trained healthcare staff and an ageing health estate and infrastructure.

“While much progress has been made in acute treatment and outcomes and our mortality from stroke has declined significantly, almost one third of stroke patients do not get acute stroke unit care. In addition to lack of designated stroke unit beds, at present almost all our existing stroke units are not purpose designed and do not meet international standards of definition. Over two-thirds of our stroke units are inadequately staffed with nursing and therapy staff. We have patchy primary and secondary stroke prevention services and limited early supported discharge and community supports for those living after stroke. The National Clinical Programme for Stroke is calling for full Department of Health and HSE co-operation in delivering our national strategy over the next five years and a Government commitment to the Stroke Action Plan for Europe in Ireland,” says Professor Collins.

“We can’t have a system that puts huge expertise and resources into saving lives only to squander the recoveries of a great many people by failing to provide even minimal physio, speech and language therapy and clinical psychology, along with community support services across vast swathes of the country and we need a radical reappraisal of investment in them. These services currently account for just 1% of State expenditure on stroke despite enabling people to remain living in their own homes instead of in long-term care, which is responsible for 80% of the total direct cost of the disease" says Chris.

The Conference will be opened by Minister Mary Butler, TD, and there will be exhibition stands from a number of groups and organisations particularly from health related fields.

The Conference is free and open to the public and will also feature a presentation on medication management after stroke and of the benefits of music therapy looking at neurologic music therapy and aphasia.

The conference is supported by TASK Community Care, Home Instead and the Tipperary Volunteer Centre.

Written by Martin Quinn