Mission Matters Issue 3 Summer 2026 - Flipbook - Page 8
The Recovery Revolution
Mission Matters looks at the pioneering stroke service and meets its
Joint Director Dr. Michael Murnane who advises that rapid
intervention, innovation and compassionate teamwork remain key
S
troke is a medical emergency
where every second counts. For
over two decades, the Mater
Stroke Service has sought to be a
leader in neurovascular care in
Ireland. This has resulted in the
development of our Mater Acute and
Hyperacute ESO-certified Stroke
units, continuous growth of our world
class multidisciplinary stroke team
and the implementation of
StrokeLINK, a novel transitional care
programme, and cutting-edge clinical
research at the Mater Neurovascular
Research Unit.
In 2002, led by Professor Tim Lynch,
the hospital opened the Mater Acute
Stroke Unit (ASU), Ireland's first
dedicated unit of its kind, bringing
together evidence-based stroke care in
St Brigid’s Ward. Building on this in
2020, led by Professor Peter Kelly and
Professor Sean Murphy, the Mater
opened its Hyper Acute Stroke Unit
(HASU). This state-of-the-art 6-bed
facility provides 24/7 physiological
monitoring and a high dependency
level of care, enabling rapid access to
highly effective stroke therapies such
as endovascular thrombectomy (brain
clot removal) procedure and
intravenous thrombolysis (clot
busting medication) and best
outcomes for patients.
At the heart of these units is a
talented, caring and innovative team
of medical professionals, specialised
nurses, Health and Social Care
Professionals (HSCPs),
administration, service design and
data experts. Neurologists and
geriatricians work alongside expert
stroke nurses to manage complex
clinical needs. Physiotherapists,
occupational therapists, speech and
language therapists, dieticians,
medical social workers, psychologists,
and therapy assistant initiate
rehabilitation immediately, tailoring
therapies to help patients regain
independence and function from day
one.
Transitioning home after a stroke can
be daunting. In response, the Mater
Stroke Team in collaboration with the
National College of Art and Design
and Mater Transformation Team,
developed StrokeLINK, a nurse-led
service.
Before discharge, patients meet a
specialist StrokeLINK nurse who
provides personalised educational
tools, including the "Living Well"
book, StrokeLINK youtube channel,
personalised text message reminders,
and the strokelink.ie website, which is
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