Debate contribution: Thrombectomy Service
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Donnelly on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Donnelly
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Thrombectomy Service
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5435799
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Opposition for tabling the motion. It is incredibly important, and I suspect that we will hear the same arguments from parties across the Floor. During my career as a nurse in the health service, I have been aware of the horrendous impact that stroke can cause: death, disability, suffering, inability to work, inability to communicate and requirements for long-term care. Since becoming an MLA in 2022, I have been keen to see the extension of the thrombectomy service to operate 24/7. We have heard the benefits of that relayed time and time again in the Chamber, in the Health Committee, at the all-party group on stroke or at events put on by the Stroke Association or Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke. It has been my privilege to meet stroke survivors and to hear about their experience and what the procedure and care have meant to them. I spoke to two of them again today. Clodagh Dunlop is a police officer who suffered a huge stroke in April 2015, leaving her unable to move or speak for nearly three months. Clodagh had a mechanical thrombectomy, and she is clear about the fact that it saved her life. Paul McLean, who has been mentioned, is also clear about the fact that getting a thrombectomy enabled his recovery and has highlighted the importance of the speed of intervention to being able to regain functions. I am glad to hear that Paul is now a proud parent.
Yes, certainly.
Yes, I agree absolutely that there is an economic argument for that as well. I commend those people for being so active in sharing their experiences. That has helped me and other Members to understand the impact on their life. I know that the Minister is keen to address health inequalities. It does not get more unequal than not having access to a potentially life-saving procedure because you fall ill at a certain time of the day. Strokes do not occur conveniently during office hours. The 2022 stroke action plan highlighted thrombectomy as its third priority and committed to moving to a 24/7 thrombectomy service by the end of 2024. That has not been delivered, and no new time frame has been established. The motion asks for a time-bound plan, noting that England aims to deliver 24/7 thrombectomy by April 2026. As Colin mentioned, the Republic of Ireland is already delivering that service. The other priorities in planned prevention, including things such as picking up hypertension and atrial fibrillation (AF) in the community, both of which are major risk factors for stroke, thrombolysis, rehabilitation, hyper-acute stroke treatment and the workforce, are all vital elements of stroke services. There is one other thing that I would like to highlight. It should be noted that a suspected stroke is a category 2 call in the Ambulance Service's triage system. That means that the target response for a suspected stroke is 18 minutes. Just 18·5% of category 2 calls were responded to within that 18-minute target between April 2025 and January 2026. I am sure many of us are very aware of what goes on in our A&Es in our hospitals. We have heard time and again that the main issue in hospitals is the lack of patient flow. That results in ambulances being stacked up outside full and overcrowded A&E departments, leading to longer response times. Unless we fix patient flow in our hospitals, people will continue to suffer and wait too long for an ambulance. Dr Peter Keston, a neuro-radiologist from NHS Lothian in Edinburgh, has said:
"Research shows you need to treat fewer than three stroke patients with a mechanical thrombectomy to save one person from being left with severe disability".
Some 3,000 people in Northern Ireland suffer a stroke each year, and there are 39,000 stroke survivors living in our communities. The impacts include death, disability, suffering, inability to work or to care for others and the requirement for long-term care. Those are all real-life consequences. We have a fantastic thrombectomy service that is currently working from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, seven days a week. Over 100 people a year in Northern Ireland miss access to a thrombectomy because of those restricted hours, resulting in avoidable harm for patients and avoidable pressure on Health and Social Care services. For every 100 patients who miss out, 42 suffer significant disability, 28 need care and some will die. The cost of improving the service to a 24/7 service has been calculated at £5 million a year. There are benefits for patients and for the system. Thrombectomy is one of the most cost-effective interventions in the system, saving around £47,000 per patient over five years, as we have heard. It also has an economic benefit, as Linda mentioned, preventing people from having to give up work or allowing them to continue to care for others or to continue to be parents. It is a truly transformative treatment, preventing disability and the impact that that could have on someone's life and on their physical or mental health. Some 150 patients get a thrombectomy every year, but 100 more could benefit. You can have a stroke at any age, and we know that increasing age is a factor. Northern Ireland's ageing population means that we will have doubled the number of people aged over 85 by 2047. Whilst a stroke can strike at any age, there will clearly be an increased demand for services. Receiving a mechanical thrombectomy could mean the difference between —
— walking out of a hospital or not being able to or worse.
933 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 | 0.02 | 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 | 0.83 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.15 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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