Mental health provision for stroke victims ‘grim’

Only a tenth of stroke victims with severe psychological problems get access to mental health services, according to a new report.

The National Survey of Stroke Survivors by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) reveals over three-quarters of stroke survivors experience emotional difficulties, but just 11 per cent were able to access psychological services.

A separate study by the RCSI-led Action for Secondary Prevention in Stroke shows that 22 per cent of patients suffered depression in the six months after a stroke and 32 per cent experienced significant anxiety.

The National Disability Association-funded (RCSI and IHF) study interviewed 196 stroke survivors aged between 24 and 89. Some 150 of them (76 per cent) reported serious psychological problems as a result of their stroke. About 83 per cent reported mobility difficulties.

The other most common symptoms were extreme fatigue and lack of concentration.

The IHF has called for urgent measures to protect the mental health of stroke survivors. "There are over 50,000 people living with the effects of stroke in Ireland and these studies paint a grim picture of their unmet physical and emotional needs after hospital discharge, with psychological services in particular being virtually non-existent," said IHF head of advocacy Chris Macey.

“The full emotional impact of stroke can be every bit as devastating as the physical effects, yet service levels provide no recognition of that reality.”