❓ The Minister for Health updated the house on the specialist stroke treatment program at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, detailing its expansion to 24/7 availability and upcoming implementation at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The program uses cutting-edge technology to remove blood clots and minimise long-term disability.
AnsweredQoN 699Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER HOSPITAL — SPECIALIST
STROKE TREATMENT PROGRAM
699. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Health:
I understand the minister visited
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital yesterday to make an announcement about the
specialist stroke treatment program. Can he please update the house on this
important development?
STROKE TREATMENT PROGRAM
699. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Health:
I understand the minister visited
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital yesterday to make an announcement about the
specialist stroke treatment program. Can he please update the house on this
important development?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
Indeed, I was very pleased and fortunate to be able to visit Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital yesterday for the announcement of this important initiative —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
That is the fourth time you have interjected today.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : This important and very specialised treatment for stroke in Western
Australia uses cutting‑edge technology. Most members would be aware that
most strokes—not all, but most strokes—are caused by a blood
clot forming in the brain, cutting off the blood supply to that particular part
of the brain. The sooner the thrombus, or blood clot, can be removed, the
better, and the lower the likelihood of permanently debilitating or disabling
effects. Indeed, if the intervention can be undertaken within four hours, if I recall
correctly, there is a much greater likelihood of a positive outcome. At Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital, highly trained neuroradiologists and their support
staff have been providing this intervention for some time. It involves
inserting a series of three concentric catheters—the smallest inside a larger
one, inside a further larger one—through the femoral artery in the
thigh and navigating up into the brain to be able to remove the clot before it
causes further damage. As I was pleased to announce yesterday, the employment
of additional specialist trained staff will enable Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital to expand this service to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The
service will also be offered at Fiona Stanley Hospital by the end of this year
or very early next year. So far this year, about 60 people have been provided
with this intervention, and expanding the service will enable 200 or more
people a year to be provided with this life-saving and very significant
intervention.
This announcement follows two years
of planning involving hundreds of healthcare professionals, from special
diagnostic training for St John Ambulance paramedics through to the hiring of
extra nurses and radiological staff. Stroke is a leading cause of disability,
and it is expected that about one in six people will experience a stroke at
some stage in their lives. That is a very significant proportion of the
community, and the more people can be provided with early intervention so that
they hopefully end up with no permanent disability, clearly the better. Strokes
can affect quite young people in the community. I was very interested to meet
one survivor yesterday—Jamie, a 39-year-old man who is actually a paramedic
himself. He experienced a stroke in early August. He received this intervention
very quickly, and once he got to the hospital, it was done within about 11 minutes,
and he has had a very successful outcome. This is a credit to those who are
working in the health system in Western Australia providing this very
specialised treatment, and it is reflective of the strong support this
government is giving them through funding the health system very well.
Indeed, I was very pleased and fortunate to be able to visit Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital yesterday for the announcement of this important initiative —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first time.
That is the fourth time you have interjected today.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : This important and very specialised treatment for stroke in Western
Australia uses cutting‑edge technology. Most members would be aware that
most strokes—not all, but most strokes—are caused by a blood
clot forming in the brain, cutting off the blood supply to that particular part
of the brain. The sooner the thrombus, or blood clot, can be removed, the
better, and the lower the likelihood of permanently debilitating or disabling
effects. Indeed, if the intervention can be undertaken within four hours, if I recall
correctly, there is a much greater likelihood of a positive outcome. At Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital, highly trained neuroradiologists and their support
staff have been providing this intervention for some time. It involves
inserting a series of three concentric catheters—the smallest inside a larger
one, inside a further larger one—through the femoral artery in the
thigh and navigating up into the brain to be able to remove the clot before it
causes further damage. As I was pleased to announce yesterday, the employment
of additional specialist trained staff will enable Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital to expand this service to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The
service will also be offered at Fiona Stanley Hospital by the end of this year
or very early next year. So far this year, about 60 people have been provided
with this intervention, and expanding the service will enable 200 or more
people a year to be provided with this life-saving and very significant
intervention.
This announcement follows two years
of planning involving hundreds of healthcare professionals, from special
diagnostic training for St John Ambulance paramedics through to the hiring of
extra nurses and radiological staff. Stroke is a leading cause of disability,
and it is expected that about one in six people will experience a stroke at
some stage in their lives. That is a very significant proportion of the
community, and the more people can be provided with early intervention so that
they hopefully end up with no permanent disability, clearly the better. Strokes
can affect quite young people in the community. I was very interested to meet
one survivor yesterday—Jamie, a 39-year-old man who is actually a paramedic
himself. He experienced a stroke in early August. He received this intervention
very quickly, and once he got to the hospital, it was done within about 11 minutes,
and he has had a very successful outcome. This is a credit to those who are
working in the health system in Western Australia providing this very
specialised treatment, and it is reflective of the strong support this
government is giving them through funding the health system very well.
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