The chances of survival for stroke victims in Western Sydney and regional NSW is set to increase dramatically thanks to Westmead Hospital securing $3 million to cover the purchase of urgently needed medical equipment.

The purchase of the INR Unit (Interventional Neuroradiology) became a reality after clubs raised more than $700,000 at the Clubs NSW gala charity dinner at Club Marconi on November 3, 2006. The INR Unit can mean the difference between life and death when used to treat a person within three to five hours of them suffering a stroke or aneurism.

Half a million dollars of the $700,000 raised will go towards the purchase of the INR unit with Westmead Hospital currently deciding how the remainder will be spent. Chairman of ClubsNSW Peter Newell said many people would be surprised at just how close the relationship is that exists between many NSW hospitals and their local clubs.

"Clubs have a proud history of supporting hospitals as well as other medical and health related charities. Their staff perform miracles daily under enormous pressure and often without fanfare or recognition.

"I'm extremely proud of the way our clubs took to financially supporting the gala charity night. Personally, it's a wonderful feeling to know that our clubs have contributed in some way to improving the chances of a person surviving a stroke or aneurism.”

Board member of The Millennium Foundation Keith Queen said the INR Unit is urgently needed. "This equipment is capable of achieving miracles. It's often the difference between stroke victims suffering permanent paralysis and or loss of speech, and making a strong recovery.

"In addition there are cost savings to the community by way of shorter hospital stays, faster recovery times and less time spent in rehabilitation," he said.

Stroke is Australia's second largest killer with one Australian suffering a stroke every ten minutes. Of these victims 15% will die within thirty days and another 30% will be permanently disabled. The national annual health cost of stroke is estimated at $1.3 billion. Despite this, publicity for stroke and its prevention is considerably lower than that of heart disease or cancer.