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THERE IS POTENTIAL for Ireland to save between €2 million and €7 million each year and free up 24,000 hospital beds if we move to a new stroke survivor rehabilitation system.
This is according to research released this morning by the Economic and Research Institute of Ireland (ESRI) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The report found that 54% of stroke survivors, or more than 3,000 people each year, could benefit from a policy of ‘early supported discharge’.
This approach to rehabilitation allows patients to return to their own homes more quickly and intensive treatment is given in the home for a number of weeks. According to today’s report, this approach would require a substantial increase in the resourcing of community therapists (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists), community nurses and other community care above current levels in Ireland.
However, savings from the reduced cost of acute bed days could fund this increase in resourcing. More people than ever are returing to their homes after stroke bye Irish Heart Foundation Chief Executive Barry Dempsey said community services designed to maximise their recovery have “remained as bad as ever, with appalling quality of life consequences for discharged stroke patients”.
Stroke survivors currently face chronic service deficits – one in three have no access to physiotherapy and half can’t get any speech and language therapy or occupational therapy. Just 11% have access to psychological services despite the often severe mental health impact of stroke and 36% pay privately for rehabilitation.
Commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation, the study found that there is currently poor resourcing of and wide regional variation in community and inpatient rehabilitation for stroke survivors in Ireland. The average length of hospital stay for patients discharged to nursing homes ranges from 79 days in the HSE Dublin North-East Region to 24 days in the HSE West Region.
Dempsey said health policymakers must now act to develop the community rehabilitation infrastructure that will impove the quality of thousands of stroke survivors “and save the State money into the bargain”.
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Sounds like someone has just watched the Unibomber on Netflix and got some ideas…
@ciaran kavanagh: more like the Zip Gun Bomber
“Police were considering whether racial hatred was a factor”. More like “Police were asked by the divisive media if they were considering whether racial hatred was a factor”
@JimmyMc: “divisive” media? You mean one asking an obvious question considering the background of the victims?
@JimmyMc: The profile of the victims would naturally lead to this suspicion.
@Brendan O’Brien: why would it naturally lead to that suspicion? Most crimes committed against people of colour are perpetrated by their fellow people of colour.
@Brad Carmichael: And racist crime/terrorism is also a thing, particularly in this era of far-right emboldenment.
@Brad Carmichael: Is white not a colour too?
@wrong side: no white is not a colour. Neither is black.
@Brendan O’Brien: so is Islamic terror maybe they were targeted for being christians ?, your usually one of the first telling everyone to wait for evidence.
@JimmyMc: Is that you Donald?
@Seamus Mc Meel: Is that you Maxine?
@Joey Navinski: whooosh…
@johnp: eh, Islamic terrorism is far_right terrorism silly.
God Bless the greatest country south of Canada and North of Mexico!
@Brad Carmichael: really, do Americans prefer to slaughter children in classrooms or is just some nut jobs
@Brad Carmichael: You really are an abominable person.Blocked,and reported.
$15,000.00 reward? Life is cheap there
No one calling for stricter parcel controls??
@Pat Cbar: purchase of explosives is already heavily restricted
Oh no our beloved Taoiseach is there.
In other news, it might rain on paddy’s day.
@Trevor Hayden: there’s now even talks of snow!
Arm everyone with parcel bombs. That should solve it
“No evidence of a terrorism link”
@Brendan Gordon: motive is needed to make that distinction
“Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joins Tesla founder Elon Musk, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and onetime presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as speakers at the event.”
How did a socialist manage to get sandwiched in between this group of neo-liberals?
ANTIFA left wing terrorists by the looks of it
@Dylan Toback: care to elaborate?
$15,000.00 reward? Life is cheap there
Ban parcels
have your say