Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2014
546. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Health the measures he has taken, with the Health Service Executive, to establish a long term unit for Cystic Fibrosis suffers in Beaumont Hospital in view of the fact that there is no such facilities on the northside of Dublin for those suffering from the long term illness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28318/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraBeaumont Hospital is one of 6 specialist centres which provides services to adults with cystic fibrosis. In the 2008 Budget, a special allocation of €2.5m capital funding was provided to enable the hospital to provide facilities for ambulatory care of people with cystic fibrosis.
This enabled the provision of the new dedicated Outpatient facility for patients with CF which facilitates a comprehensive range of services from the multidisciplinary teams; these include outpatient clinics, a drop in centre / base for clinical assessments with medical consultants and nurses, and the provision of treatments that would otherwise have required hospitalisation; for example, infusions and antibiotic therapies, assessment of pulmonary function, physiotherapy, dietetics and psychology.
The consultation and treatment rooms have air filtration rooms which facilitate 12 air changes per hour, approximately three times the average rate in a normal room. This benefit reduces the time needed between patients for the purposes of infection control. This facility opened on October 26, 2010.
St Paul's Ward is the specialist respiratory ward in the hospital, on which the single rooms are for elective admission of patients with CF for prophylactic antibiotic therapy (or other treatment as required). With priority access to a number of en-suite inpatient rooms, adults with CF are rarely admitted as in-patients via the Emergency Department.
In discussion with the National Clinical Care Programme and the clinical team on-site, it has been identified that due to the increase in numbers within the service there is a requirement for an increase in in-patient single-room accommodation for our CF patients. Arrangements are being finalised to provide this within the hospital’s existing infrastructure.
With regard to longer-term plans, the hospital is engaging with the HSE in relation to the overall infrastructure related requirements to best meet growing service demands. The requirements for CF patients will form an integral part of these discussions.
