1 in 5 Irish people will suffer a stroke at some point in their lives, and the results can be life-changing for patients and their families. Patient experience surveys show patients feel afraid and unprepared to meet the challenges of returning home following a stroke, with many not knowing who to turn to when they need support.
This often leads to poor engagement with the health advice and medications they were given in hospital, which in turn can result in patients having further strokes or other complications. Much of this is avoidable through better self-care.
StrokeLINK is a nurse-led service that provides patients with personalised support tools and education to help them feel more confident in managing their recovery after stroke.
Patients are taking charge of their health by making better choices, such as quitting smoking, eating healthier, and regularly monitoring their blood pressure. These changes translate into better health outcomes for patients and a more efficient use of healthcare resources.
Since StrokeLINK there has been a reduction in preventable readmissions to the hospital. Moreover, patients feel the difference with 98% of patients rating their post hospital care as excellent compared with 63% pre-StrokeLINK.
Before StrokeLINK, 1 in every 10 stroke patients presented back to the hospital with emergencies that are now dealt with or averted in the community by StrokeLINK
93% of StrokeLINK patients followed advice and made positive changes to lifestyle following their stroke compared with 42% before StrokeLINK.
64% of patients stopped smoking compared with 14% before StrokeLINK.
‘To have had a stroke, and think that it might happen again, what should I do/what should I not do….all my questions were answered clearly and it was so reassuring to be part of the
StrokeLINK service.
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