Specialist stroke units could cut deaths from the disease by 25 per cent at little or no extra cost, says Dr Desmond O'Neill of the Age-Related Health Care Centre at Tallaght hospital.
At present, there are only two co-ordinated stroke services in general hospitals, one at Tallaght and the other at St Vincent's, Dublin, he said.
He was speaking in advance of an open day on stroke being held on Saturday at the Doyle Tara Towers Hotel, Dublin, by the Council on Stroke of the Irish Heart Foundation and the Volunteer Stroke Scheme on Saturday. Dr O'Neill is chairman of the Council on Stroke.