Mercy Urgent Care Centre Opens in Cork - 20th March 2012
Mercy Urgent Care Centre Opens in Cork - 20th March 2012
The Mercy Urgent Care Centre, which will treat patients with minor injuries quickly, has opened (20th March 2012) at St. Mary’s Health Campus (former St. Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital), Gurranabraher, Cork. The new centre will treat patients, aged 10 and over, with minor injuries such as suspected broken bones, minor burns, scalds and cuts requiring stitching and will have the facilities to take x-rays and apply plaster casts.
The centre will open from 8.00am to 6.00pm, seven days a week and will treat people suffering from minor injuries in Cork city and county who self-refer or are referred from other services such as general practitioners and Southdoc.
Forming part of the HSE South’s network of emergency services in Cork, the centre will be under the governance of the Mercy University Hospital (MUH).
The centre will be led by a consultant in emergency medicine and staffed by doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers and other health care professionals. They will treat adults and children, aged 10 and over, presenting with non–emergency conditions that are unlikely to require hospital admission. Patients in many cases will be treated quicker than at the emergency departments and the normal €100 emergency department charge will apply to non-medical card holders. The fee will not be applicable for patients referred on from GPs/Southdoc.
Minor injuries comprise typically around 40% to 50% of patients who present to emergency departments (EDs), most of whom present during the day. The opening of this centre will help to alleviate waiting times and volumes at the CUH and MUH EDs.
Mr. Desmond Murphy, Chairman of Mercy University Hospital Board of Governors, said: “This is an inspiring new venture for the MUH and we are very happy to be in a position to govern this facility. The new centre will be of enormous benefit to the people of Cork city and surrounding areas and this venture reaffirms the Mercy University Hospital’s commitment to healthcare provision in Cork.”
Dr. Gerry McCarthy, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Cork city hospitals, who is the lead medic responsible for opening the new centre said: “It is vital we reorganise emergency services in order to provide the most appropriate care to the people of Cork. The establishment of the Mercy Urgent Care Centre on St. Mary’s Health Campus will ensure that people attending with injuries that are unlikely to require hospital admission will be seen speedily and discharged.”
Pat Healy, Regional Director of Operations, HSE South said: “The development of the Mercy Urgent Care Centre is the result of ongoing collaboration between HSE South and the Mercy University Hospital as part of the re-organisation of services currently taking place in our acute hospitals in Cork. It is also a testament to the commitment made to retain health services on St Mary’s Health Campus. The Mercy Urgent Care Centre and the new community nursing unit, Heather House, are both now open. Plans are progressing to develop a new primary care centre to provide services such as GP, public health nursing, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and community mental heath nursing for those living in the area. We are also collaborating with University College Cork and Cork City Council to develop a wide range of services, which will be hugely beneficial. A number of MUH outpatient clinics will transfer to the Campus and plans are underway to re-develop HSE South’s Grove House (residential centre for people with intellectual disability). These plans will ensure that St. Mary’s Health Campus remains a vibrant healthcare provider on the north side of Cork city.”
Ms Sandra Daly, Chief Executive Officer, Mercy University Hospital said: "The Executive Management Board and staff at Mercy University Hospital are delighted to be involved in this new and exciting development for healthcare in Cork. The opening of the Mercy Urgent Care Centre reaffirms Mercy University Hospital's pivotal role in the provision of emergency services in Cork and the region.
It also strengthens Mercy University Hospital's close working relationship with other city hospitals and adds to the co-ordinated regional approach to emergency care to the benefit of patients.
Staff at the Mercy Urgent Care Centre will have direct access to the MUH Emergency Department and all MUH hospital services.”
Ger Reaney, HSE Area Manager Cork said “Today’s opening represents the culmination of six months work from a dedicated project team comprising staff from the HSE South, Mercy University Hospital and South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. I am confident that patients will reap the benefits by getting swift treatment for minor injuries; freeing up our emergency departments for more complex cases.”
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