Tallaght Hospital’s Raymond P Murphy Neurology Assessment & Research Unit was officially opened today. The new room will offer enhanced space to see patients with neurological diseases and was officially opened by recently retired Dr Raymond Murphy, a former neurologist at Tallaght Hospital and the Adelaide Hospital. This new facility incorporates a research unit which forms part of the Trinity College Academic Unit of Neurology.
Guests attended the official opening at the Ruttle Ward in Tallaght Hospital where they had the opportunity to view the new room. The unit has been equipped with an ocular coherence tomography machine, making the Department of Neurology in Tallaght Hospital the only unit in the country with dedicated access to this technology. This non-invasive imaging technique can be used to generate high resolution, three dimensional images of the retina for use in research of neurological disease and the monitoring of drug complications involving the retina.
While Tallaght Hospital provides services for chronic neurological disease in a catchment area of over 500,000 people, it has not previously had a dedicated space to cater for such patients. The new room has three fully equipped examination bays two comfortable armchairs for patients requiring prolonged periods of observation. In addition nurse specialists will be in a position to provide education to patients and for a Research Fellow in Ataxia and Movement disorders.
Dr Richard Walsh, Consultant Neurologist at Tallaght Hospital said: “We are extremely proud to be opening this dedicated unit today. This facility will undoubtedly further enhance our ability to provide care to our patients in an efficient manner and in a comfortable environment. It is also fitting that this important unit is named after Dr Raymond Murphy who gave many years of service to neurology in Tallaght Hospital, which is now reflected throughout the country where his influence continues in the many neurologists he trained during his career. I am delighted that he is here with his family today to officially open the unit. I must also thank the Meath Foundation and Novartis who have provided all the funding to make this project possible.”
David Slevin, CEO, Tallaght Hospital said: “The opening of this new Neurology Research and Assessment Unit is a testament to the important emphasis that Tallaght Hospital places on improving patient experience while receiving care and on the value of research in improving the quality of care we provide. I wish to congratulate all those who spearheaded this project and Dr. Raymond Murphy who has quite rightly been acknowledged for his immense contribution over a long and distinguished career in neurology.”
About Tallaght Hospital
Tallaght Hospital is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, providing child-health, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The hospital has 495 adult beds and 67 paediatric bed with 2,600 people on staff. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre.
Tallaght Hospital is one of two main teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. Tallaght Hospital is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
A new satellite centre is to be built at Tallaght Hospital as part of the National Children’s Hospital project as a key element of an integrated clinical network for paediatric services nationally.
The hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 44,640 Adult ED Attendances and 31,934 Paediatric Attendances in 2014. A further 263,929 patients were treated through the hospital’s outpatient clinics in 2014. The hospital’s operations are supported by a community of 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
