Stroke services in Ireland have improved in recent years, but there is still ‘a large amount of work to do', a leading stroke consultant has said.

Every year, some 10,000 people in Ireland suffer a stroke and 2,000 people die as a result. Thousands more are left with stroke-related disabilities.

According to Dr Joe Harbison, a consultant stroke physician at St James's Hospital in Dublin, stroke outcomes are improving again ‘after a plateau during the late noughties'. However, there is still 'considerable variation between hospitals on the numbers treated'.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, depriving it of oxygen. As a result, some of the brain cells die and others are damaged.

One in five people will have a stroke at some stage in their life and the majority (80-90%) are known as ischaemic strokes. These are strokes caused by a sudden blockage in the blood vessels supplying the brain, by a blood clot.

If a stroke has been caused by a clot, one of the most likely forms of treatment considered will be thrombolysis, which is also known as clot busting treatment. This treatment, which is provided intravenously, breaks down the clot, stopping any further damage to the brain.

Clinical opinion states that 10-15% of stroke victims would benefit from thrombolysis and the current rate in Ireland is 9.5%, which Dr Harbison describes as ‘fairly high by international standards'.

Speaking to irishhealth.com, he also notes that all acute hospitals in Ireland which admit stroke patients can provide thrombolysis. In early 2009, less than 3% of stroke patients received thrombolysis and almost half of acute hospitals could not provide the treatment.

However, while major progress has been seen in this area, Dr Harbison said that there are still a number of things that need to be done to further improve services, including the provision of larger stroke units and additional training for staff.

Dr Harbison, who is also the joint clinical lead for the HSE's national Stroke Programme added that an independent audit of stroke unit care is due to be carried out in the summer ‘to see how things are going and to define our next steps'.

For more of Dr Harbison's views on stroke services, see our feature 'Stroke services - lots done, more to do'