Stroke Unit Appeal

The Stroke Unit Appeal was established by CUH Charity in 2019 to raise awareness about stroke and to support the development of a new dedicated Stroke Unit at the hospital. Cork University Hospital currently has the busiest Inpatient Stroke Service in Ireland with over 500 confirmed stroke patients each year. Due to an ageing population, the number of stroke patients in Ireland will increase by 25% in just the next 5 years.

What is a Stroke?

A stroke occurs when blood flow is interrupted to part of the brain. Without blood to supply oxygen and nutrients and to remove waste products, brain cells quickly begin to die. Depending on the region of the brain affected, a stroke may cause paralysis, speech impairment, loss of memory and reasoning ability, coma, or death.

Key Facts about Stroke:

+  One in five people will have a stroke at some time in their life.

+  Stroke is the second biggest killer worldwide, the third biggest killer in Ireland and is the leading cause of adult acquired disability.

+ Stroke can occur at any age. 1 in 4 strokes happen to people under the age of 65. CUH has treated people with strokes as young as 4 years old.

+ A woman’s lifetime risk of stroke is considerably higher than her risk of breast cancer.

+  Cork University Hospital is the Stroke Thrombectomy Centre for the Munster region and will evolve to a 24/7 service. Thrombectomy, which is the removal of a blood clot that is causing a stroke and used to treat certain acute strokes, is only done in CUH and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Thrombectomy is a revolutionary new procedure than can “cure” certain stroke patients from an otherwise devastating stroke. It significantly reduces the disability of 1 in every 2 stroke patients that receive this treatment.

To provide the best care possible to patients, CUH Charity is raising funds to support the fitting out and equipping of the new Stroke Unit at the hospital.

The new Stroke Unit will incorporate a new therapy suite to provide better and quicker impatient rehab for stroke patients. Stroke unit care remains the cornerstone of good stroke care. Getting to a stroke unit after your stroke reduces mortality and morbidity. Stroke unit care increases your chance of returning to independence by 20% versus standard care on a medical ward.

About 15% of CUH acute stroke patients die and the new unit will improve access to single rooms to enable people to die with dignity. This will also enable stroke services to fulfill key criteria in order to obtain European Stroke Service Accreditation.

CUH has a new Early Supported Discharge Stroke Service, also the busiest in the country, which provides stroke rehab to certain patients in their homes instead of on the ward. The aim is to develop a regional stroke network in Munster, with CUH at its hub, to enable the delivery of  world-class stroke care to the people of Munster.

Please support the Stroke Unit Appeal by making a donation today. and help us provide the best care possible to our stroke patients.

Thank you