Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too would like to take the opportunity to talk to the importance of raising awareness in relation to National Stroke Week, which ran from 12 to 18 September this year. As we all know from those that have taken the opportunity to research this area, it is one of Australia's biggest killers. Obviously, the number of people that suffer either permanent or temporary disability due to stroke is an incredibly significant issue.

One in six people will suffer a stroke at some stage in their lifetime. I lost my dad to a stroke in 1987. Whilst on a golf course, he went down and did not get up. Obviously, it is something that our family has been quite aware of. We like to think that all of the children are very keen to get check-ups with their respective GPs. Also, my mum, who was a nurse, would always say, 'The one thing I don't want as I get older is ever to have a stroke.' Of course, mum had a stroke about six years ago and was in a nursing home for the last three years of her life due to its pretty significant effects. It certainly raises that importance for all of us of making sure we have strong and close relationships with our GPs so that we can have the tests and the range of medicines that are available to prevent clotting, stroke and so forth. There are very strong messages out there.

Some of the statistics in relation to the prevalence of stroke are good signs. Over the last three decades, there has been a significant decrease in the incidence of stroke in the broader population. That is a very positive statistic. These declines have been driven by improvements in the key risk factors such as high blood pressure, the reduction in the smoking rates, as well as the progress in medical treatment, other advanced care and the advancement in the medicines that are available to people who are in that high-risk category.

It is also worth remembering that stroke kills more women than breast cancer does, and kills more men than prostate cancer does. We should not be thinking, 'This is something that only happens to those old folk; it is only something that happens at the end of our lives.' That is just not true. A quick walk around any aged-care facility will generally find somebody in that 50 to 60 age bracket who is sitting there because they have had a stroke and they are significantly impaired. It is very sad state of affairs when those purpose-built facilities are not prevalent enough to cater for people that are suffering from serious disabilities as the consequence of stroke.

I will just take this opportunity again to raise awareness but also to send the message out to the broader community. This is a real opportunity for us to get tested and to have our family history checked because there is evidence that suggests your likelihood of being hit by a stroke does, in fact, have a hereditary chain; therefore those of us who have stroke in our family history need to be very cognisant of that and need to take the necessary opportunities.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare there is currently no comprehensive monitoring of new cases of stroke. Again, that would suggest that there is a real need and real opportunity for an increase in data collection and an increase in the studies that are done into the new causes of stroke. Perhaps that could create an improved picture as to the quality of stroke care that could take place right around Australia. I think that is the message that I would like to push: let us get the data, let us make sure we understand the incidences of stroke and the causes of stroke, and let us make sure we understand as much as we possibly can about this real killer in our society.

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