Numbers dying from stroke continue to decrease

The number of people who died as a result of a stroke has consistently declined over the last decade, according to the latest statistics published by the Department of Health.

In 2007, some 2,078 people died from a stroke in the State but this fell to 1,920 in 2015 and 1,825 last year, according to the the Health in Ireland study, which charts trends in public health.

The number of women who died as a result of breast cancer increased between 2015 and last year, from 678 to 726. Although the overall rate of women who died from breast cancer declined from 40 to 39 per cent over the last 10 years. The report also notes the 2016 figures are still provisional.

The number of deaths on Ireland’s roads due to transport incidents have dropped by half over the last decade. In 2007, the survey states, 305 people were killed in transport incidents, and this figure fell to 124 in 2015.

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However, most recent figures suggest an upward creep in fatalities, with 140 people killed in 2016. The trend in the number of people in Ireland who died by suicide is declining, from 554 in 2011 to 399 in 2016.

Mortality rates

Minister for Health Simon Harris said he was "particularly struck by the continued reduction in mortality rates from main causes of death such as heart disease, stroke and cancer".

The birth rate has continued to decline steadily over the last number of years in Ireland. The number of births reached a high point in 2009 at 75,554 before declining each year since then to 63,897 last year. Ireland, however, has the second highest fertility rate in Europe behind France, according to Eurostat figures from 2015.

Pressure on hospital emergency departments is increasing, according to the study. From 2014 to 2016 the number of A&E attendees increased from 1.2 million a year to just under 1.3 million. The number of people in the country with a medical card has declined from 40 per cent in 2013 to 35 per cent in 2016.

Drug-use treatment

More people are receiving treatment for problems with drug use – not including alcohol – than a decade ago. There were 9,094 reported cases of individuals in treatment in 2016, a little under double the amount actively receiving treatment for drug use problems in 2007.

Spending on acute hospitals continues to take up the largest share of the HSE budget at 33 per cent, compared to the 26 per cent spent on primary and community patient care. Ireland also spends the third most on healthcare in the EU per capita, behind Luxembourg and Germany.

The biggest increase in staff numbers in the public health service over the last year came in the administration and management areas, rather than nursing or medical staff, the report found.

Some 609 more employees are working in administration roles in the Health Service Executive, a 3.6 per cent increase since 2016, compared to 443 additional nurses, which represents a 1.2 per cent increase.