Tallaght Hospital in partnership with The Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) hosted a unique exhibition today which sheds light on the world of medical imaging.
IMI, which was founded in 1968, represents medical illustrators from all over the world - those working within healthcare’s clinical photography and video fields as well as graphic designers and medical artists. Medical Illustrators communicate treatments and conditions and the imagery produced is commonly used to help diagnose conditions and assist the planning of complex surgery.
Ms Lucy Nugent, Chief Operations Officer at Tallaght Hospital who opened the exhibition said: “I am delighted that Tallaght Hospital was chosen as the location for this first visit to Ireland by this fascinating exhibition. It presents a rare and unique insight into the captivating world of medical illustration and affords us all an opportunity to appreciate the invaluable role the profession makes in the enhanced delivery of patient care. This is also an opportunity to recognise and proudly commend the outstanding achievement of our own medical photographer Tommy Walsh who was recently awarded a Gold Award.”
As one of the country’s largest academic teaching hospitals, and one that carries out innovative surgeries and handles specialist cases across different departments, the photography service is essential to the operation of the hospital. The clinical images taken are used for diagnosis, assessment and the ongoing treatment of both inpatients and outpatients. In addition, Tallaght Hospital has built a sizeable library of patient-approved images for clinical teaching/education that is invaluable to students during their training at this academic teaching hospital.
Tommy Walsh, Medical Photographer at Tallaght Hospital, and a member of the IMI, was recently awarded a Gold Award for his photography of a condition called Eczema Herpeticum. This award is given to a photographic, graphic entry that in the opinion of the judges, clearly and unanimously demonstrates exceptional use of technique, understanding and interpretation of the subject in the illustration and fulfilment of the brief.
About the IMI
Since 1968 IMI has set and maintained standards for the medical illustration profession, bringing together the disciplines of clinical photography, medical art, illustration, graphic design and video within healthcare from all over the world. The Institute's members are a highly specialised and skilled group of people contributing to the care of patients and the teaching of medicine and allied health subjects.
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 614 beds and employs almost 3,000 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 hospital clinics in 2014. The hospital’s operations are supported by a community of 300 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
