Debate contribution: Thrombectomy Service
Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Thrombectomy Service
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5435843
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the proposer of the motion. At the outset, it is worth emphasising that those who work in Health and Social Care to provide stroke treatment and care during extremely difficult and complex hours do so, as others have said, because they care so much about the well-being and prognosis of their patients. We are so grateful to them for that and all the subsequent support that they provide. I am also aware that they receive complementary and vital support through the likes of Stroke Association NI and Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke. They are here today, and we are all grateful to them for keeping the issue high on the agenda for us and providing a voice to those who have suffered a stroke and now live with the consequences. The clinicians, healthcare workers and campaigners are doing that work with one hand tied behind their back.
It is incredibly frustrating to stand in the Chamber and call again for a 24/7 thrombectomy service for Northern Ireland. Eighteen months ago, when I was chair of the all-party group on stroke, I presented a petition to the Assembly on behalf of the Stroke Association, calling for the 24/7 service that the stroke action plan, as others have mentioned, promised by the end of 2024. Here we are again, in 2026, reinforcing the point that treatment for patients who have suffered a stroke must be a priority. Failing to deliver on that pledge will have already had devastating consequences for so many lives, and it could affect any of us at any time in the future.
We need to recognise the fundamental cost of inaction. Thrombectomy is time-critical: it is literally a matter of life and death. People are being left with serious disabilities or, sadly, dying well before their time because a 24/7 service, which could have saved their lives, has not been introduced, and they were unable to avail themselves of treatment because of the time of day that they entered the health service. As a past health spokesperson for the Alliance Party, I met many survivors and clinicians who spoke of the huge relief that thrombectomy can bring to people who can avail themselves of it. They also spoke of the appalling consequences of delay, including brain damage, loss of independence and difficulty with rehabilitation. I want to speak up for the clinicians with whom I have engaged about a 24/7 service and office hours. Many of them come in on their days off, when they should be at home resting or spending quality time with their families, because they recognise that a patient has entered the health service and needs their help. We cannot put such a huge burden on so few healthcare professionals. I want the Health Minister to outline how he is working with the trusts to develop a robust workforce in that area. Unfortunately, from experience in my family, I know that strokes do not keep office hours. My mother-in-law was found on the floor, having had a stroke sometime between midnight and 7.00 am on a Saturday. The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes, but the service could not save her from severe disability because of the amount of time she lay unattended. She was left paralysed, immobile and with severe and accelerated cognitive decline. It did not have to be that way. There is a severe inequity at the heart of the system. We need to be clear that whether someone has a stroke in the wee hours of a Saturday morning or at midday on a Thursday should not make a difference to their survival prospects and potential rehabilitation; the human case should, of course, be enough. It is also worth emphasising that not providing a 24/7 thrombectomy service clearly costs the system more money through the provision of follow-up services than it would to provide it. Fundamentally, it is a test of whether the system exists for its own sake or whether it needs to be reformed to put patients first. I want to hear from the Minister on the obstacles that prevent the delivery of the key part of the 2022 action plan, when we will see 24/7 thrombectomy services and what action is being taken to keep patient dignity in the meantime.
715 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 | 0.17 |
| 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 14:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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