Print PageAn Taoiseach Officially Opens New €2.1M Day Hospital for Care of the Elderly at St Joseph’s Hospital, Raheny
Thursday June 12, 2014
New 7,000sq ft facility funded by Beaumont Hospital Foundation
Today (12.06.14) An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D and the Beaumont Hospital Foundation officially opened a new Day Hospital at St Joseph’s Hospital in Raheny, which is part of the Beaumont Hospital Campus. The purpose-built medical facility for care of the elderly has been funded by Beaumont Hospital Foundation with an investment of €2.1million in donor funds.
The new Day Hospital will provide specialist care for the elderly living in Beaumont Hospital’s catchment area. The Day Hospital provides access to a fully equipped, six bed medical assessment ward, gym, speech & language therapy room, family and social work consultation rooms, occupational/physical therapy services and a dining/social room for patients.
The facility will assist in detecting early-stage health issues in older patients, preventing them from requiring admission or re-admission to the hospital for acute services. It will also enable the early discharge of patients from Beaumont Hospital to their own home as they can now access the intensive, multi-disciplinary services of the Day Hospital, by referral from a GP or hospital consultant.
Funding of the unit, which adjoins the existing St Joseph’s Hospital, has been made possible through a single major donation of €1.5 million to Beaumont Hospital Foundation, supplemented by a further €600,000, made up of individual donations from thousands of BHF supporters. The services of the Day Hospital replace those formerly provided on St John’s Ward in Beaumont Hospital.
Speaking at the event, An Taoiseach said, “The new healthcare facility will provide North Dublin’s elderly community with a state-of-the-art day care service which will relieve the pressure on the main hospital and create a gentle and respectful, caring environment for older people to complete their care and rehabilitation. It is a fabulous contribution to community healthcare services in North Dublin and I would like to congratulate the many supporters of Beaumont Hospital Foundation for their part in making this new facility a reality”.
Professor Ciáran Donegan, Consultant Geriatrician, and board member, BHF, said, "The building of the Day Hospital has only been made possible through the major contribution we received from a very generous donor. Using their incredible gift, BHF has built a facility which has transformed the environment and the service model for Beaumont Hospital’s Care of the Elderly Services. We are able to deliver a complete, multi-disciplinary health care assessment and rehabilitation service to patients and provide an expanded service model allowing more patients to remain independent and in control of their lives while in the care of this integrated and holistic service approach”, he concluded.
Liam Duffy, Chief Executive Beaumont Hospital also added “There are significant challenges in meeting the needs of a growing elderly population in the North Dublin, with an increasing demand for care services. The catchment area has one of the lowest ratios in the country of rehabilitation and long-term care beds, and significant investment is needed to meet the demands. On behalf of Beaumont, I would like to acknowledge and commend the Beaumont Hospital Foundation for its achievements in successfully fundraising for the new Day Hospital facility that will service the community in the North Dublin area and hope that this is the first step forward in addressing the need for such services in this area.”
Beaumont Hospital Foundation works to generate and manage funding for innovative health and medical advances at Beaumont Hospital. Through the support of former patients and their relatives, corporate supporters, donors and the local community, the Beaumont Hospital Foundation fundraise to fuel patient care initiatives which contribute enormously to the quality of care and support Beaumont Hospital’s staff are able to provide.
For more information on the work of Beaumont Hospital Foundation, see www.bhf.ie.