€16 million raised by hospital trust

More than €16 million has been raised by the Mid-Western Hospital Development Trust for hospitals and health facilities in the Mid-West since 1986, it emerged this week.

Speaking at the official launch of a new €10.5 million complex at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, trust chairman, Louis Creaven, said the benefits accrued from the continuous support from the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Ams since 1990 were phenomenal.
The Newmarket-on-Fergus resident stressed this funding had made a significant impact on developing health services in the region over the last two decades.  
The money donated has provided specialist equipment and services such as CAT scanners in Mid-Western Regional Hospitals, Limerick and Ennis; a new state-of-the-art radiotherapy centre in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick; catherisation laboratory; a MRI centre; a hydrotherapy centre; urology, renal, endovascular, intensive care, neurology and ophthalmology equipment.
In addition to the €16m already spent on equipment for Mid-West-based public hospitals, Mr Creaven outlined the trust was now providing a €4m grant towards construction costs for the dermatology unit and specialist breast unit in a new partnership approach with voluntary bodies in association with the Health Service Executive (HSE).
“This unit, which is part of today’s initiative, will dramatically change the way dermatologic and breast care disease services can be delivered to patients in the Mid-West Region.
“The trust is delighted to be associated with the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Association – TLC4CF  – in setting a new headline for health service development,” Mr Creaven.
“Pressure on public finances means that the work of bodies such as the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and TLC4CF Mid-West Branch and the trust is today more important than ever in meeting the gaps in the public-health service,” he added.
John Harty, the chairman of the JP McManus Charitable Trust, told the attendance the launch was a great day for the hospital and the Mid-West and added that the charity was delighted to be able to assist the trust in raising so much money for vital health projects.
Mr Harty said that the Pro-Am had reached a pinnacle last year and had proved to be a great source of revenue for charitable causes.
The new €10.5 million construction development at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, is designed to fill significant gaps in the provision of specialist services including cystic fibrosis, neurology, stroke, dermatology and symptomatic breast disease.
The development of a purpose-built six-storey building on the hospital’s Dooradoyle campus represents a united effort by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, the Parkinson’s Association and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland.
Planning permission for the development was received on December 23. Construction is due to begin in June 2011 and the various components of the project are expected to be operational by January 2013.
Construction costs are estimated to be €10.5m and additional funding is available for equipment.
The facilities to be provided in the development include cystic fibrosis outpatients’ unit with five treatment rooms and an inpatient unit with nine en-suite rooms.
A new neurological unit will cater for 11 neurological conditions. From the very young with epilepsy, all ages with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease and stroke, to name but a few, will be treated in the new facility.
Complex technical treatments will be provided in a special six-bed unit. Overall, it will serve 5,000 patients.
A new dermatology outpatients’ centre will bring all dermatology services together at one location and will act as a focus for dramatic improvements in services for dermatology patients throughout the region.
Official figures have confirmed that 6,280 dermatology patients were seen at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick last year.
Una Anderson Ryan, chairwoman of the Parkinson’s Association, said it was impossible to describe the difference the new neurological unit, which includes an Acute Stroke Unit, would make to the lives of so many of its members and their families.
“A unit like this should be provided in every hospital in the country. Some patients have very difficult symptoms that require privacy and the smaller wards and private rooms will provide this.
“Overall, the new unit will be an invaluable resource that will make a significant difference in improving patient care and quality of life,” she said.
Owen Kirby, chairman of TLC4CF, commented, “This is a very positive move and a critical next step in TLC4CF’s goal of achieving a world-class facility for CF adults in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.
“TLC4CF would also like to acknowledge the other very positive fact that the staff complement at MWRH dedicated to CF patients has increased as part of our overall drive.
“The number of adult CF patients attending MWRH is increasing all the time as people living with CF are surviving longer.
“There is a dedicated paediatric CF team at this  hospital but at present, the facilities in the Mid-West for adults with CF are very basic, which is why this announcement is so important.
“The presence of this new dedicated facility will go a long way to improving the longevity and quality of the lives of people living with CF in the Mid-West Region. The new facilities will also play a major role in improving the lives of so many others,” he added.

New €4.2m CF unit plan unveiled
The hard work of Clare parents of adults with cystic fibrosis was rewarded on Monday when plans for a new €4.2 million outpatient unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis were unveiled.
Clare volunteers who are part of a regional drive to raise money to build a new state-of-the-art cystic fibrosis unit, received a boost this week after planning permission was granted for a new adult daycare centre.
Clare cystic fibrosis representative Linda Drennan estimates that €1.35m has been raised as part of the TLC4CF campaign in the Mid-West over the last two years. This includes two tranches of national lottery funding totalling €300,000.
Ms Drennan said there was great goodwill towards the group when it came to fundraising, despite the impact of the recession.
TLC4CF, an initiative formed by the Tipperary, Limerick and Clare branches of the Cystic fibrosis Association of Ireland (CFAI), are delighted that approval has been given for the new unit in Limerick hospital.
The benefits of the new unit were outlined by cystic fibrosis suffer Katie Drennan, from Ennis, in a wide-ranging presentation, which drew applause from the attendance at the official launch.
The 20-year-old second-year Business Studies student at the University of Limerick was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) when she was just less than three years of age. Her 19-year-old brother, Jordan, also has CF.
“The difference this new development will make for my quality of life and for many other CF patients is difficult to summarise.
“Over the past 20 years, I’ve had a lot of experience of the Irish hospital system, some of it good and some quite difficult. I’ve spent a lot of time as an inpatient in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin. This wonderful new facility will improve the lives for all cystic fibrosis patients in the Mid-West Region,” she said.
She outlined that the new unit would provide several benefits for patients.
“It means patients will not have to travel to other CF centres in Dublin to receive their treatment. Patients will not have to endure long hospital stays away from home. We will no longer fear the risk of cross-infection when we attend the hospital for treatments.  Such a unit will also benefit our families as well, as long-term absence from the home due to frequent hospital stays can sometimes be very difficult and the long-term absence from our families and friends can sometimes be the hardest to deal with. 
“The importance of an isolation facility cannot be over emphasised enough and the recent appointment of Dr Brian Casserly as the first adult CF specialist consultant in Limerick is a major step forward.
“TLC4CF hopes that the development of this new unit will also mean that CF patients attending the Mid-West Regional Hospital, Limerick will not have to go through accident and emergency to be admitted to hospital, which has always been detrimental to CF suffers health, due to the high risks of cross-infection.
“With the continuous help of TLC4CF, in future all CF patients attending the Limerick hospital won’t have to endure the dangerous and inadequate services that previously existed,” he said.   
“We all look forward to enjoying better facilities and a higher standard of care, which will play a major role in improving the lives of so many people with cystic fibrosis,” she added.