With the dept of health's latest public consultation, "reshaping stroke services" and the closed consultation on ambulance response times and categories people living in the  ards peninsula areas will be at greater risk.

The plan is to remove the hyper acute stroke services from the Ulster Hospital and reduce ambulance response times to stroke calls. Given this combination and the added factor that this area has the largest population of older people (who are also at greater risk of stroke) we would have to bypass the Ulster Hospital and go straight to the RVH, all while waiting longer on an ambulance eating into the golden hour. While the stroke services in the RVH will be excellent so are those at the  Ulster Hospital that serves a large rural and older population and is also the 2nd busiest stroke unit behind the royal. 

The smoke screen of greater use of the air ambulance is just that, this cannot travel in poor weather, can't land anywhere other than a helipad at night and is reliant on £1m of charity money each year to stay in the air.

We demand that the dept halt this reform until a health minister is in place, furthermore the options appraisal is revisited and the Ulster included as an option. Given the older population and the need for treatment in the golden hour we residents of the peninsula are being monopolized over those on the urban areas. 

We also call on the department to hold public meetings in the ards peninsula areas.