Africa has major shortage of neurologists, expert warns
Neurologist Dr Alison Richardson said that access to neurological care in Africa remains a challenge as the world observes World Brain Day on Wednesday.
This year's theme is "Brain Health: Access for All," with the emphasis being on the severe disparities in neurological care, particularly in developing countries.
Richardson said that in large parts of the African continent, there are no neurologists at all, which is a compounding factor in patient management.
"We as South Africans are in a much more fortunate position, "said Richardson.
"The whole of South Africa has about 200 neurologists, but if you take it into the bigger scheme of things, we've got 60 million people in South Africa."
She adds that this ability is also not evenly distributed across the country, which is an added barrier for specialised care.
Richardson said the mere fact that there are so few neurologists is a major issue, as not all general practitioners or clinics are able to recognise the signs of a stroke, for instance, which delays referrals.
She said this could impact diagnoses and the level of care.
"As the South African Neurological Association wants to know or find ways where we can make neurological care more possible and more accessible when there are so few of us in terms of both numbers and resources."
Richardson said lifestyle modifications could have a major impact on the possibility of having a stroke.
"So you look at blood pressure control, which is a risk factor, diabetes risk factors, high cholesterol, heart disease, smoking, being physically inactive, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption. All of these, you know, are ways that patients can limit their risk in terms of having a stroke."
She said the important factor about a stroke is time. She said every minute matters.
"We use the term time is brain; you are losing up to 2 million brain cells every minute that the blood vessel is blocked.
"One should not wait to see if things get better; if you suspect a stroke, you need urgent medical assessment," added Richardson.
She shared a mnemonic to help identify a stroke.
BE FAST
Richardson said there is a simple way of testing whether you are in danger or suffering from a stroke: Be Fast.
B is for balance, if you or your loved one loses coordination.
E is for eyes, the sudden onset of blurry vision or even complete loss of vision.
F is for face; a typical sign of a stroke is that one side of the face becomes numb or starts to droop.
A is for arms, if one side becomes numb or weak.
S is for speech, if speech is slurred or difficult to understand.
T is for time, as quick intervention is key.
She said if you fit the criteria, emergency services should be called immediately.
"The point of this is that in patients who've had an ischemic stroke, or a stroke that's caused by a blood clot, if we get to a facility in time, we have medication that we can administer to break down that clot and reverse what could be a devastating and potentially permanent neurological deficit.”
