OPINION: Policy and people in a different world

YOU can't have failed to notice the Tony and Gordon show on Thursday - the two most senior politicians in the Government arriving in town to dispense wisdom and gifts.

Unfortunately, the gifts had strings attached. Low interest loans for public spending are not quite the same thing as rectifying the appaling shortfall that now exists in Health Service funding in Northern Ireland.

We in the Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association welcome the fact that Mr Brown's cheque will hasten the opening of a new regional centre for the care of cancer patients. But there are many thousands of others who, as usual, will be the forgotten people.

I'm talking about those on the lengthy waiting list for cardiac operations; about stroke patients whose chances of a full recovery essentially depend on a postcode lottery; and about people suffering from respiratory illnesses, who receive perhaps the worst Cinderella treatment of all under current health policy.

The one thing Gordon Brown has consistently failed to address is the unfairness that has developed in Northern Ireland health funding during the past two decades.

In that time, the Government's spending per person in Northern Ireland has dropped substantially in comparison to England. Figures from Scotland show that it has at least maintained its spending per head of the population. And yet, Northern Ireland has a death rate from coronary heart disease that is 21 per cent higher than that in England.

In fact, the English battle against heart disease has specifically benefited from huge amounts of additional money in recent years.

However, we have been ignored.Hundreds of people are languishing on the waiting list for surgery, not knowing if they will survive long enough to reach the operating theatre.

Research carried out by the NI Chest Heart and Stroke Association shows that the quality of life of patients on the waiting list is appaling.

The association has appointed a Cardiac Liaison Sister to offer advice and support to people waiting for heart surgery.

So - as in many instances - a charity has to bring comfort to people who have been let down by the Health Service, and, by extension, let down by those who control the purse strings.

Stroke patients and their families also need a much better deal from the NHS here.

In the US, stroke is treated as a medical emergency, in much the same way as heart attack. The most important aspect of the treatment is speed - on the grounds that the sooner someone is given effective medical intervention, the greater the chances of a full recovery.

In Northern Ireland, not only do we fail to treat the condition as a brain attack, but also stroke patients are often treated in ordinary medical wards without co-ordinated specialist care.

We do, however, have a number of specialist stroke units, in which doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists work in close liaison for the greatest benefit of each patient.

My advice to Sunday Mirror readers is this: If a member of your family suffers a stroke, insist on their being treated in the nearest Stroke Unit.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor has returned to London with a public relations feather in his cap. Meanwhile we, and thousands of people who depend on us, are left to cope as best we can on public donations.

Its as if health spending policy and people exist in two different worlds.

NICHSA general helpline 08457 697299; cardiac helpline 08456 011658 or website www.nichsa.com

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