New facility providing rapid access
24 January, 2007
A new facility which will provide rapid access to medical assistance for patients over the age of 70 has been officially unveiled by health Minister, Mary Harney.The community based service has been designed as a support to regular GP practice, and is expected to ease some of the pressure currently crippling the city’s A&E Departments.
Harney was on the northside recently for the launch of the newly located St. Marys Rapid Access Clinic at Charter Medical in the heart of the north Dublin community. The service is specifically designed to provide rapid access for sub acute illnesses in patients of 70 years and over. These services currently only exist in Accident and Emergency departments. Charter Medical has been contracted by the HSE to provide this service, and has the ability to treat up to 4,000 patients per year, representing a large proportion of those patients currently presenting Accident and Emergency.
Designed to improve services for older persons, the clinic features a dedicated geriatric medical and nursing team treating defined illnesses and conditions in a state of the art facility. Up to now, Patients have been initially referred from the Mater Emergency Department and north inner city GPs and from this month, services will be offered citywide. The new clinic will offer prompt outpatient assessment to patients over 70 years of age and it is anticipated that this intervention and treatment will assist in avoiding hospital admission.
Commenting on the new initiative, which is based in Smithfield, Minister for Health and Children, Minister Harney, said, “I am delighted that this new facility is in place to treat the elderly population of Dublin. It is in a convenient location, is a pleasant environment but most importantly offers rapid and appropriate care.”
It is anticipated that over 85% of patients will be able to return home after treatment at the clinic leading to less acute hospital admissions and less pressure at A&E Departments. Significantly however, it will provide older people with an appropriate setting for assessment, diagnosis and treatment and avoid delays at A&E Departments.
Operating five days a week from 9am to 6pm initially, the HSE anticipated that opening hours will be extended as demand increases. Amongst the diagnostic facilities on offer at the clinic are same day reporting on x-rays and a dedicated transport service will also be available for patients.
The procurement of this new service illustrated the HSEs commitment to improving services for older people and addresses A&E issues in a wider context. It is important to treat patients in the most appropriate settings, and this quite often is not necessarily the acute hospital.
The Charter Medical Group is providing the service under the direction of Dr. Dermot Power, Consultant Geriatrician at the Mater Misericordiae and St Mary’s Hospitals. According to DR Power “the enhanced rapid access clinic will allow more geriatric patients to be treated and returned back home without having to spend unnecessary time in Accident & Emergency departments. As a medical professional, I am delighted with this development and I am confident that it will prove positive for the community at large.”
