Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) National Stroke Week:

(i) will run this year from 14 to 20 September; and

(ii) is about raising awareness to prevent stroke in Australia; and

(b) the National Stroke Foundation encourages all Australians to:

(i) be aware of what stroke is, how to recognise a stroke and what to do;

(ii) live healthy to reduce the risk of stroke; and

(iii) get a regular health check;

(2) acknowledges the:

(a) launch in June 2015 by the Minister for Health of the Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standard; and

(b) bi-partisan work done by past governments in the area of stroke; and

(3) notes the requirement for greater awareness and promotion of the prevention of stroke within the Australian community.

The week from 14 to 20 September is National Stroke Week, organised by the National Stroke Foundation. The importance of this being a national event demonstrates how significant stroke has become. Stroke is Australia's second biggest killer, after coronary heart disease, and is a leading cause of disability. With one in six people expected to have a stroke in their lifetime, it is even more devastating to learn that 65 per cent of people living with stroke also suffer a disability that impedes their capacity to carry out daily functions. It is estimated over 50,000 new stroke occurrences happen nationally every year. As of 2014, stroke has been registered as claiming more female victims than breast cancer and more male victims than prostate cancer. In Australia, a stroke occurs every 10 minutes. This year, 12,000 people will tragically lose their lives from stroke, with two thirds of survivors being disabled as a result.

Whilst any life lost to stroke is one too many, the unseen aspect of stroke has a much broader impact. The National Stroke Foundation estimates that caring for over 440,000 survivors of stroke costs the Australian economy $5 billion per year. The 2015 Intergenerational report has painted a clear picture of the challenges facing an ageing Australian population. It is apparent that with the increase in our ageing population the number of strokes annually is expected to exceed 130,000.

However, the real tragedy for stroke victims is the sudden onset of the incident. An example of this devastation can be the realisation that retirement plans of working-age victims are often abandoned given the state of disability that most stroke survivors are left in. In addition, the family budget is often thrown into disarray if the only option is care provided by a spouse. The economic impact in this case is far reaching, with at least two lives having been suddenly and dramatically changed.

In June of this year, the Minister for Health, the Hon Sussan Ley, launched a new clinical care standard, focusing on the early assessment and management of patients with stroke. This clinical care standard will ensure that, regardless of where a patient of stroke presents for assessment, they will be cared for using the best possible treatment.

In my electorate of Dobell there are 1,792 men and 1,515 women living with the aftermath of stroke. As far as statistics for new stroke occurrences go, there are approximately 210 males and 198 women, totalling over 400 new strokes each year. This number is expected to more than double by 2050. As the Central Coast population increases and our ageing population grows, this presents a challenge to our local health and support services.

Recently, I met with Brenda Booth, a member of the National Stroke Foundation Consumer Council, and stroke advocate Jackie Galbraith to discuss the impact of stroke and current support services on the Central Coast. The Central Coast Local Health District, which includes both Gosford and Wyong hospitals, is ranked seventh in New South Wales for the number of strokes, with over 1,000 stroke presentations in the 2014-15 financial year. Treatment of stroke on the Central Coast has been well resourced and managed. The Central Coast has a community neurological support service, with specialist treatment available. The Central Coast Local Health District has taken further steps to address stroke in the establishment of a TIA clinic to address the early signs of stroke. This clinic is vital because if a mini stroke is not treated properly the risk of stroke is significant.

Both Brenda and Jackie spoke with immense passion and knowledge. I wish to thank them for their time and efforts, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in the future to raise awareness of stroke and its impacts on the community. Amongst the things discussed with Brenda and Jackie were the all-important warning signs and a term referred to as the FAST test commonly used to determine whether or not someone is experiencing a stroke. FAST is an acronym for a test which prompts bystanders to look for certain indicators—that is, observing the potential victim's face, arms and speech, and not wasting time.

I acknowledge the work undertaken by people such as Brenda and Jackie and their colleagues at the National Stroke Foundation, and I thank all those involved in helping stroke victims for their tireless efforts. It is their passion and dedication that make the community of Dobell and the Central Coast fortunate to have advocates such as these to create awareness and provide information regarding this important issue.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. Next week is National Stroke Week. The second week in September is always National Stroke Week. The purpose of that is to raise awareness about stroke, the prevalence of it in Australia and the recognition and prevention of stroke.

There are two types of stroke: there is stroke that is caused by a bleed in the brain and there is a stroke that is caused by a blockage. The treatment for those strokes is very different. There has been a lot of research into stroke undertaken. One of the leading researchers in this area is Professor Chris Levi at the Hunter Medical Research Institute. He was instrumental in the development of the stroke buster—the blood-busting drug that if administered within 4½ hours of when a person has a stroke, they can make an almost full recovery. That is where the time factor comes in—if you respond quickly, the damage that is caused by a stroke is minimised.

As the member for Dobell said, stroke is very prevalent in our community. It is one of the leading causes of disability and it remains the second-biggest killer in Australia. One in six people will have a stroke within their lifetime and over 60,000 people will suffer new or reoccurring strokes each year. The risk of stroke is influenced by a number of factors beyond our control—that is, age, gender and family history—but there are factors that we can control. I encourage people to look at their behaviours and their lifestyle issues, and make a point of trying to limit their chance of having a stroke—things such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, being overweight and drinking too much. Every Australian needs to know their stroke risk factors. Knowing your personal risk factors, being physically active regularly and exercising regularly, thinking about what you are eating, eating healthily and having a very healthy diet, limiting consumption of alcohol and knowing the FAST symptoms—face, arms, speech and the time factor—help you avoid stroke.

Last Friday I had a seniors' forum. One of the speakers there was Judy Webb-Ryall, who is involved with Stroke and Disability Information Hunter Inc. She went through all of the issues and talked to the 100 people that were there about what they could do to limit their risk factors and what they should do if they suspect that they are having a stroke. The big message comes back to that time factor: do not sit, do not wait, do not think, 'It'll go away.' Call an ambulance. You are better off going to hospital and finding out that you have nothing to worry about than staying at home and ending up with permanent disability. A stroke is always a medical emergency. Recognise the signs of stroke. Stroke is not a heart attack; it is when the supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted by either a bleed or a blockage. Some strokes are fatal, while others cause permanent or temporary damage. The longer a stroke remains untreated, the greater the chance of there being some sort of residual damage.

One of the best works that I have seen on stroke was one that was conducted by Deloitte Access, the Stroke in Australia: no postcode untouchedreport. I think the member for Dobell got some of the information she referred to from that. It emphasises the cost of stroke to our community. I end by saying: remember FAST—Face, Arms, Speech and Time. If you think you are having a stroke, act. It is a medical emergency.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Dobell's motion regarding National Stroke Week. In doing so, I commend both the member for Dobell, for moving this private member's motion, and the National Stroke Foundation, for their ongoing work to raise awareness of the symptoms and treatments for stroke. Strokes can occur in all age groups and among people at all levels of fitness. However, the risk of stroke does rise with age. It is more common in men and in people with a family history of stroke. There are also certain lifestyle factors that lead to an increased risk of stroke. For instance, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, obesity, poor diet, a lack of exercise and drinking large amounts of alcohol can all contribute to an increased risk. However, the largest preventable risk factor for stroke is high blood pressure.

The Stroke Foundation recommends that blood pressure be controlled through regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, and also through medication if necessary. For people who are at risk, the Stroke Foundation recommends regular check-ups and monitoring. Treatment will vary depending on the type of stroke experienced, but the most important factor is time. The sooner you can respond and start treating a stroke, the sooner you will improve the chance of survival and successful rehabilitation.

To get the message across to all Australians, the National Stroke Foundation recommends the FAST test as the best way to recognize common signs of stroke. As the member for Dobell pointed out, FAST is an easy-to-remember acronym that stands for Face, Arms, Speech and Time. When examining a person for signs of stroke, they recommend you should firstly observe their face: has their mouth dropped? Secondly, their arms: can they lift both arms? Thirdly, their speech: is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? And, finally, time: act quickly and call 000 if any of these symptoms are present. The FAST method is incorporated into the new Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standard, released by Minister Ley in June this year. The standard sets out a clear process that clinicians should follow when assessing and treating patients suspected of stroke, and it is a sign that the government is serious about ensuring stroke patients are treated safely and effectively.

Indeed, stroke is so prevalent that most of us will know of a colleague, friend or family member who has suffered a stroke. In my electorate of Ryan alone, on 2014 figures, there are 2,553 people who are still alive despite having suffered a stroke. While most are aged over 70, 413—or more than 15 per cent—are aged under 55. Stroke awareness will only become more important in the years to come. There were 295 strokes in Ryan in 2014. However, with the ageing of the population and an increased prevalence of some lifestyle factors, that number is expected to more than double to 660 by 2050.

But there may be good news on the horizon. Given the increasing public health challenge posed by stroke, there is significant research currently underway into new treatment methods that may revolutionise the way we treat stroke in future. A good example is the research being undertaken by the Queensland Brain Institute, located at the University of Queensland, in my electorate of Ryan. There, researchers have had some early success in the study of brain damage caused by strokes—news of which I shared with the House earlier this year. Researchers have discovered that the worst damage to the brain is often not caused by the stroke itself but by what happens to the brain afterwards, when it is trying to repair itself. During this process, blood clots can form in the brain that can then cause the inflammation that results in brain damage. Scientists at the Queensland Brain Institute have successfully located a molecule that causes the damaging inflammation.

Studies in mice have shown that it is possible to inhibit this molecule using a drug known as CAL-101. This is an exciting new discovery that if proven in humans could lead to new treatments that dramatically reduce the severity of brain damage caused by incidences of stroke, aiding rehabilitation and long-term recovery. This again reinforces the importance of time. Strokes, when recognized early, are far more treatable and are far less likely to cause long-term damage. If we can achieve one thing this week, it would be to encourage more Australians to pay attention to the symptoms of stroke and, if necessary, to seek treatment immediately.

Once again I commend the National Stroke Foundation for their campaign and encourage all Australians to familiarise themselves with the FAST method. One day it may just save a life.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is one chance in eight million of winning the lotto, one chance in one million of being eaten by a crocodile whilst visiting the Northern Territory, one chance in 660,000 of winning an Olympic gold medal, one chance in 12½ thousand of getting a hole in one, one chance in 3,000 of being struck by lightning in your lifetime and one chance in six of having a stroke. In 2012 about 50,000 Australians had a stroke—that is one person every 10 minutes.

One of those people was an inspiring young man named Luke Webb. I met him last year when he cycled 108 kilometres from the Big Merino in Goulburn to the steps of Parliament House here in Canberra. He rode for six hours to give me a petition signed by 11,000 people as part of the National Stroke Foundation's Fight Stroke campaign. It was not easy, but it was nothing compared to what Luke had already been through. He is now one of 440,000 stroke survivors in Australia.

Many Australians survive stroke, but two-thirds need assistance afterwards to carry out their daily lives. The same number suffer a disability that will cut short their working lives. Up to one-third suffer depression. Stroke also kills—one in three people who have a stroke will die within a year. It is the second-biggest killer in Australia after heart disease. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.

Despite advances in stroke treatment and the important work done by the National Stroke Foundation, we are still short of best practice care in Australia. That is why it is so important to raise awareness of stroke, the signs of stroke and stroke prevention. Some of the signs include facial weakness, arm weakness and difficulty with speech. Some of the ways to help prevent it include losing weight, not smoking, exercising more and lowering your blood pressure. All of these things can help, but stroke can still happen to anyone.

Luke was only 20 when it happened to him. His stroke was triggered by a plane trip where he got deep vein thrombosis. To raise awareness he has already ridden his bike to Canberra, and now he is writing a short film about the immediate after-effects of stroke and the impact it can have on a young person, especially on people who leave hospital without a care plan or proper rehab. He is hoping to produce this film and use it as a tool to spread awareness and put pressure on those who can make a difference—people like us. Like Luke, I urge the government and I urge the parliament to do more to fight stroke.

Next week is National Stroke Week. Each year, as part of National Stroke Week, the National Stroke Foundation runs more than 3,000 activities across the country. Activities range from awareness morning teas to displays and talks, personal and team challenges, and health checks. Although some of the risk factors for stroke cannot be controlled—things like age, gender and family history—as I said earlier, there are some things that we can do to lower the risk of suffering a stroke. One of the most important of these is checking and managing our blood pressure. So I urge everybody to get a check-up next week. Talk to your doctor and check your blood pressure. Talk to your friends and encourage them to go to the doctor as well, encourage them to get a check-up and encourage them to check their blood pressure. To my fellow MPs, I encourage you to get involved in the campaign and help to spread the word, because we can and we should be doing better.

Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to this worthwhile motion. I thank the member for Dobell for initiating this motion, as well other members of the House for their contributions. We just heard from the member for Blaxland about Luke, the 20-year-old that suffered a stroke. That is indicative of some of the heartbreak and the challenges that strokes cause in our society. National Stroke Week is a fantastic initiative to help raise awareness and try to prevent stroke in Australia, running from 14 to 20 September. I, like many others, know a number of people who have suffered from a stroke, so I understand the difficulties faced by the many in our community who have survived this ordeal.

We have heard some enlightening facts already, including that one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and a leading cause of disability. In 2015 there will be more than 50,000 new and recurrent strokes. That is 1,000 strokes every week or one stroke every 10 minutes—some really frightening statistics. We have also heard that stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer, and we know how serious these cancers are in our society and how they affect so many people, including people that we know. National Stroke Week is a great initiative by the National Stroke Foundation and is designed to encourage all Australians to be aware of what stroke is, how to recognise a stroke and, importantly, what to do, as well as to live healthily and to get regular health checks to reduce the rise and chances of stroke.

The federal government acknowledges how a stroke can impact on someone and devastate the lives of the people around them. Earlier this year the government launched the Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standard, which is designed to help treat stroke early, prevent recurrences of stroke and lead to much better outcomes for patients and their carers. The federal government also knows the need for greater awareness and promotion of the prevention of stroke within the Australian community.

However, in my community in South Australia, the state government is making life more difficult for the people of Hindmarsh in the western suburbs to receive emergency treatment when suffering from a stroke. The Transforming Health plan for the Weatherill government includes shutting parts of hospitals and making cuts to emergency departments, which is a concern. This includes cuts to the services provided at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency department. People experiencing life-threatening emergencies, such as a stroke, will no longer be able to be treated at the QEH, a great hospital not far from my electorate. As you can imagine, this has caused some grave concern in the community. Demographically, Hindmarsh is one of the oldest electorates in the nation. Many who live in the area rely on the QEH as their major hospital, including Mrs Barb Coombe of West Lakes Shore, who was one of the many concerned residents who wrote to me. She said that her husband has recently had health issues and he relied on the services provided by the QEH emergency department. She writes:

Dear Mr Williams,

I have read your newsletter and thank you.

Why I am writing to you is about our QEH.

My husband has always gone to the QEH having had a few strokes & heart attacks. Will he still go there or to the Royal Adelaide Hospital?

I don't drive and Ted is 85 years old and change does not go down well with him.

Kind regards,

Barb Coombe.

Mrs Coombe is rightly concerned that the planned cuts to the QEH will have a negative impact on her and her husband. Patients like Mrs Coombe's husband will now be taken to an alternative hospital like the RAH, which is a greater distance away from West Lakes. The greater distance amounts to longer time to receive medical attention, and we all know that for strokes and heart attacks every second counts. Many of my constituents, including me, are deeply concerned about the extra travel time and distance if people suffering life-threatening emergencies such as stroke have to travel to alternative hospitals such as the RAH.

I have visited the Queen Elizabeth and met with health professionals. In my conversations with health professionals, I am informed over 1,000 patients suffering a heart attack or stroke are treated every year at the QEH. The state government's response is to buy new ambulances and have more paramedics. But, although paramedics do a great job, strokes are best treated in emergency departments, and I believe this policy will put extra stress on the already stretched South Australian public health system. I strongly object to the state government's decision to cut services at the QEH. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be listening to the people's concerns.

In closing, I congratulate the National Stroke Foundation on its efforts. I am a strong supporter of the Medical Research Future Fund. This is a game-changing initiative which can only help efforts to treat various health conditions and diseases. I congratulate the Minister for Health on the launch of the Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standard in June this year to help us address stroke.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important motion brought here before the House today by the member for Dobell. I have often spoken in this place about the chronic health issues prevalent in my electorate of Calwell—health problems that disproportionately affect people from lower socioeconomic and non-English-speaking backgrounds. Ensuring and advocating for adequate access to the very important health information that is available for my constituents who do not speak English is, of course, one of my main concerns, and so it is with the important information and awareness-raising programs related to stroke.

Stroke is a major health issue in our community that potentially affects anyone at any time. It is not an old person's illness. It does not discriminate on the basis of postcode, gender, or ethnicity. It can pretty much happen to anyone at any time, and I want to applaud the efforts of the National Stroke Foundation in raising awareness though their annual Stroke Week, which takes place this month, September. I want to welcome them here to the parliament and commend them for the excellent work they do, work that is essential to saving lives in our community. The National Stroke Foundation is a national not-for-profit organisation that works with stroke survivors, carers, health professionals, government and the public to reduce the impact of stroke on the Australian community. Its mission is to be a voice of stroke prevention in Australia.

A stroke happens when blood supply to the brain is interrupted. Blood, as we know, is carried to the brain by arteries. It contains oxygen and important nutrients for your brain cells. Blood may be interrupted or stop moving through an artery because the artery is blocked or because the artery bursts. When brain cells do not get enough oxygen or nutrients, they die. Every stroke is different. Each person affected by stroke will have different problems and different needs. Nevertheless, raising awareness is critical to recognising the symptoms of a stroke so that immediate medical attention can be sought, which in turn maximises the chances for survival and recovery.

Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and the leading cause for disability. One in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. This means that a person who has a stroke is likely to be someone we know: our partner, sister, brother, husband, wife, daughter, father, friend or colleague—in fact, people who are our constituents. Behind this statistic are real lives and real people.

In 2015 there will be more than 50,000 new and recurrent strokes. That is 1,000 strokes every week or one stroke every 10 minutes.    In 2012 there were nearly 130,000 Australian stroke survivors, or 30 per cent of stroke survivors, under the age of 65 in the community. In 2012 there were over 420,000 people living with the effects of stroke, and 30 per cent of these people were of working age. In 2015 there will be almost 440,000 people living with the effects of stroke. This is predicted to increase to some 709,000 by the year 2032. Stroke kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. Sixty-five per cent of those living with stroke also suffer a disability that impedes their ability to carry out daily living activities unassisted. In 2012, the financial cost of stroke in Australia was estimated to be $5 billion. The estimate of the burden of disease cost at $49.3 billion is comparable to the $41 billion burden of disease cost that Deloitte Access Economics estimated for anxiety and depression in 2012.

Surviving a stroke means knowing the symptoms and acting quickly. My colleagues have repeatedly made that point today. Many stroke victims will also be people who will not ordinarily be considered an obvious risk of having a stroke. They will be younger than 50 and physically fit. They may run, cycle, swim or go regularly to the gym. They may not necessarily be overweight and they may not smoke. It is essential to know that you do not have to fit a typical risk profile in order to be a stroke victim. The important and critical message is that a stroke can happen to anyone at any time.

In raising awareness, it is important to emphasise that the best chance of surviving and recovering from a stroke is to get medical attention immediately or as soon as is possible because chances of maximising recovery depends on the time taken to get to a hospital. It is very important to stress this point. I want to support and commend this motion today because we are making a contribution to saving lives.

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Dobell for raising this important issue on stroke awareness. It is estimated that 440,000 Australians live with the effects of stroke, two-thirds of whom suffer a disability that impedes their ability to carry out daily-living activities. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is restricted either through a blockage or bleeding. This cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain causing damage to the affected tissue. A stroke may cause paralysis, speech impairment, loss of memory and reasoning ability, coma or death. A stroke can happen to anyone. One in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. It does not discriminate.

My father suffered a stroke when he watching his favourite son compete in tennis. His favourite son has two sisters—there is no other son. This actually stopped him from playing tennis. He took up playing golf and he was very proud of his handicap of about 30, which he called his stroke handicap. Long after he had recovered, he still played off that handicap to take money off the unsuspecting. Rod Laver had a stroke. Rod is a very shy man, uncomfortable with his celebrity status. When doing a television interview he was clearly uncomfortable with, his blood pressure was raised and he suffered a stroke. Australia paused until he recovered.

Aside from the personal cost, stroke costs the Australian economy around $5 billion each year, including $3 billion in lost productivity and $1 billion in lost wages. This motion acknowledges the positive contribution by the National Stroke Foundation to prevent stroke through campaigns like National Stroke Week, which will be observed across the country next week. I am proud to support this motion and call upon this House to recognise the steps we, and all Australians, can take to reduce the negative impact stroke has on our economy and our community.

As the member for Bennelong, I am fortunate to represent the region that houses the majority of Australia's innovative pharmaceutical companies. This means I have the opportunity to observe firsthand the evolution of treatments for life-threatening conditions. Stroke treatment is a particularly good news story about the incredible impact on society of investing in health research. In the 1950s a drug called Warfarin was approved by the medical community to treat stroke due to its effectiveness as a blood thinner. Warfarin was initially marketed during the Second World War as rat poison. Despite this, it became one of the most widely prescribed oral anticoagulants.

In recent years, new breakthrough medicines called new oral anticoagulants have been invented to help prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. In particular, I was involved in the campaign for Pradaxa, which is produced by Bennelong's Boehringer Ingelheim, to be listed on the PBS and therefore available to Australian stroke patients at a heavily subsidised price. Unfortunately for those patients, the previous government delayed this decision by 2½ years after the PBAC had approved the drug's listing. Through this time, I was amazed at the incredible generosity of Boehringer Ingelheim, led by managing director Wes Cook, in offering the medicine on a compassionate program to hundreds if not thousands of patients. At a Parliamentary Friends of Medicine event I hosted in 2012 I was privileged to meet some of these patients, hear their stories and see the genuine appreciation they had for Boehringer Ingelheim and their compassionate program. Finally listed on the PBS in 2012, new oral anticoagulants like Pradaxa and other similar medicines produced by Bayer and BMS Pfizer have helped prevent an estimated 60,000 strokes.

In 2015, there will be more than 50,000 new and recurrent stroke. That is 1,000 strokes every week, or one stroke every 10 minutes. Australia is home to some of the world's leading stroke researchers, and some amazing work is being done around the country as we speak on innovative ways to help treat stroke and to prevent long-lasting disability and death. I therefore add my voice to this motion from the member for Dobell and extend my support and gratitude to organisations like the National Stroke Foundation for their efforts to raise awareness of the importance of stroke prevention.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dobell for bringing this motion to the House. It is of course National Stroke Week next week, a very important awareness-raising exercise about the perils and risks of stroke and, obviously, the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and getting regular health checks.

Probably the most important message that this parliament can give people is the FAST test. FAST stands for: face—check the face and if the mouth has drooped; arms—can they lift both arms; speech—is their speech slurred and do they understand you; and time. Time is critical. If you see any of those signs, you should call 000 straightaway. Some of the other signs of stroke might be weakness; numbness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg on either or both sides of the body; difficulty speaking or understanding; dizziness, loss of balance or an unexplained fall; loss of vision, sudden blurring or decreased vision in one or both eyes. These are important signs. We should be aware of them and we should make our communities aware of them, because stroke is an extraordinarily serious disease for Australia.

There are some 40,000 to 48,000 stroke incidents occurring every year in Australia—one every 11 to 13 minutes. The vast majority of these are first-ever stroke, and of those who have reported a stroke 80 per cent were 60 years or older. That said—as the member for Blaxland has so eloquently told the House—it does occur to younger people as well. It is estimated that stroke is responsible for about two per cent of direct healthcare costs in Australia. The estimated lifetime cost of stroke is some $2.14 billion per annum, and the cost of informal care from families and friends is estimated to be $21.7 million in the first year after a stroke.

It is clear that in South Australia we have had some success in reducing the incidence of stroke in the last few years, but it is still the second-leading cause of disease burden after heart disease. The cost of lost productivity and other costs to the community and families is extraordinary. I was interested to hear the member for Hindmarsh talk about the Transforming Health program and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital does have, I think, a very hallowed view in the community's mind, and I understand that. But I actually had to take a family member there a couple of months ago and I had to sit in emergency for about four or five hours. The family member was later admitted. I can tell you that that hospital, as a building, is pretty old and worn out. The nurses and the doctors work extraordinarily hard in facilities that are really not up to scratch. That is one of the reasons why the South Australian government is building new hospitals in South Australia as part of the Transforming Health plan. It is very important that the community understand this. It is much better to go that extra distance to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital—a hospital which is more efficient, will have more doctors and nurses more freely available and will have a dedicated stroke unit—than to go to a hospital that is not going to give you the best treatment of those out there.

It is very important that people understand that the Transforming Health program aims to give better care. One of the areas is the RAH, but the Lyell McEwin and Flinders hospitals are also having dedicated stroke units put in them. You are better off going to a dedicated stroke unit, which has doctors and nurses who do this all day long and have the degree of speciality and technique to give you the best possible treatment. That is the aim behind the Transforming Health plan. It is understandable that people might have concerns about that, but we should not indulge ourselves in a fit of nostalgia about old hospitals, because they are old. Old hospitals can cost people their lives; new hospitals and new facilities save people's lives. So the member for Hindmarsh, with all due respect for him, should remember that when he is running his campaigns.

Debate adjourned.