Debate contribution: Public Petition: 24/7 Thrombectomy Service
Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 16 September 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Public Petition: 24/7 Thrombectomy Service
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4531782
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As the chairperson of the all-party group on stroke, I am delighted to present this petition calling for 24/7 access to thrombectomy services. The petition was organised by the Stroke Association and has been signed by 3,567 people, including stroke survivors who have benefited from a thrombectomy. I am delighted to welcome some of them to the Public Gallery. They have come to see the petition being presented, and I thank them for their efforts. A thrombectomy is a mechanical procedure that is carried out on eligible stroke survivors in a timely manner. It saves brains and significantly reduces the chance of disabilities such as paralysis, visual impairment and communication difficulties following a stroke. It saves money: on average, each patient who receives a thrombectomy saves the health service £47,000 over five years. It changes lives: a quarter of patients who receive a thrombectomy experience reduced disability, and a fifth achieve functional independence. Thanks to the efforts of hard-working stroke teams, Northern Ireland has a relatively well-developed thrombectomy service compared with the rest of the UK. However, with only 6·7% of patients receiving a thrombectomy, we still fall short of ensuring that every eligible patient — thought to be at least 10% of stroke patients — can benefit from this life-changing treatment.
One way to enhance access to a thrombectomy is by providing a 24/7 service so that patients can access it no matter when or where they have a stroke. The Department of Health previously committed to delivering a 24/7 service for Northern Ireland by the end of 2024, but it now says that that is unlikely to happen. This is unacceptable and will lead to more serious disabilities and, unfortunately, death in some cases. I urge fellow MLAs to work with me, the Stroke Association and the community support groups to lobby the Department of Health to commit to thrombectomy expansion, with multi-year investment in infrastructure, equipment and workforce training and support to tackle stroke workforce shortages by progressing the promised stroke workforce plan for Northern Ireland; to progress stroke transformation to create efficient treatment pathways so that eligible patients can access a thrombectomy as quickly as possible; and to invest in innovations that can support enhanced and timely access to a thrombectomy. Members, now is the time to make thrombectomy treatment for stroke patients a priority. Failing to do so will have devastating consequences for so many lives. Thank you.
403 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.97).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.97 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.87 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.13 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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