Debate contribution: Thrombectomy Service
Debate contribution by Mr Alan Robinson on .
- MLA
- Mr Alan Robinson
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Thrombectomy Service
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5435797
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I am content to support the motion. We thank the proposer of the motion for bringing it to the House. We all know that thrombectomy can be a life-changing treatment for patients who suffer the most severe forms of stroke when it is delivered promptly, especially in the first six hours. It can dramatically reduce the number of deaths and long-term disabilities. It can allow people to do many of things that they once loved to do and live independently again. In a challenging financial landscape, evidence points to it providing long-term savings for our Health and Social Care system by reducing the need for lifelong support. In stroke care, time is everything. We all know the phrase, "Time is brain". I can testify to that, having a family member who had a rapid intervention and, as a result, now lives alone at the age of 85, independently and without the need for carers. Every minute that a large-vessel stroke goes untreated, millions of brain cells are lost. Despite that, access to a thrombectomy service in Northern Ireland remains limited to office hours. We all know that stroke does not and never will respect working hours. It does not pause overnight or at weekends, yet 24/7 access to that life-saving treatment does not exist for patients who suffer a devastating stroke at 6.00 pm, at 2.00 am or on a Sunday morning. In recent days, the Health Minister has kindly told the Health Committee, in a letter, that a considerable volume of evidence shows that the expected net savings from treating a patient with a thrombectomy and thrombolysis are £35,000 per patient over five years, in comparison with that for thrombolysis alone. That is driven by a reduced hospital stay and the requirements of long-term care. While we have to recognise that there is a significant recurrent cost to establishing such a 24/7 service, we all look forward to progress being made on the ongoing strategic outline case, which will provide further evidence of the savings to be had by introducing a 24/7 service. It is important to say that rapid ambulance transfer to the regional thrombectomy centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital hinges on more brain tissue being saved. Therefore, a rolled-out 24/7 thrombectomy service is only one part of the overall jigsaw. A workforce plan is another part of that, given that the number of strokes is projected to increase by 60% across the UK by 2035. We have dedicated stroke teams, occupational therapists (OTs), physios and speech therapists who are at their brilliant best and could realise the potential of the treatment. I have met the stroke team at Causeway Hospital and cannot speak highly enough of the work that they do. An appropriately resourced 24/7 thrombectomy service, with rapid access, would represent exactly the high-impact, outcomes-focused reform and vision that we would want from the Health and Social Care reset plan. It is targeted and evidence-based, and it focuses relentlessly on improving patient outcomes, which is something that everyone in the House is calling for. The Minister highlighted that the thrombectomy rate in Northern Ireland was 5·2% in 2024-25. That is higher than the regional rates in England, Scotland and Wales. We should all acknowledge that, but we need to strive for further improvements and better outcomes for patients.
553 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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