Paula Bradshaw has sought leave to present a public petition in accordance with Standing Order 22. The Member has up to three minutes in which to speak.

As the chairperson of the all-party group on stroke, I am delighted to present this petition calling for 24/7 access to thrombectomy services. The petition was organised by the Stroke Association and has been signed by 3,567 people, including stroke survivors who have benefited from a thrombectomy. I am delighted to welcome some of them to the Public Gallery. They have come to see the petition being presented, and I thank them for their efforts.

A thrombectomy is a mechanical procedure that is carried out on eligible stroke survivors in a timely manner. It saves brains and significantly reduces the chance of disabilities such as paralysis, visual impairment and communication difficulties following a stroke. It saves money: on average, each patient who receives a thrombectomy saves the health service £47,000 over five years. It changes lives: a quarter of patients who receive a thrombectomy experience reduced disability, and a fifth achieve functional independence. Thanks to the efforts of hard-working stroke teams, Northern Ireland has a relatively well-developed thrombectomy service compared with the rest of the UK. However, with only 6·7% of patients receiving a thrombectomy, we still fall short of ensuring that every eligible patient — thought to be at least 10% of stroke patients — can benefit from this life-changing treatment.

One way to enhance access to a thrombectomy is by providing a 24/7 service so that patients can access it no matter when or where they have a stroke. The Department of Health previously committed to delivering a 24/7 service for Northern Ireland by the end of 2024, but it now says that that is unlikely to happen. This is unacceptable and will lead to more serious disabilities and, unfortunately, death in some cases.

I urge fellow MLAs to work with me, the Stroke Association and the community support groups to lobby the Department of Health to commit to thrombectomy expansion, with multi-year investment in infrastructure, equipment and workforce training and support to tackle stroke workforce shortages by progressing the promised stroke workforce plan for Northern Ireland; to progress stroke transformation to create efficient treatment pathways so that eligible patients can access a thrombectomy as quickly as possible; and to invest in innovations that can support enhanced and timely access to a thrombectomy.

Members, now is the time to make thrombectomy treatment for stroke patients a priority. Failing to do so will have devastating consequences for so many lives. Thank you.

Ms Bradshaw moved forward and laid the petition on the Table.

I will forward the petition to the Minister of Health and send a copy to the Committee for Health.