19th January 2017 Tallaght Hospital has today announced the launch of a new Public Health Education Series for the local community. As part of this initiative, the Hospital in partnership with the Patient Community Advisory Council (PCAC) will be organising regular public events featuring medical, nursing and allied health professionals discussing topical and common health issues.
The first event will feature Consultant Gastroenterologist Dr. Anthony O’Connor who will give a talk entitled “Your bowel – What you need to know and why” at 7pm in Killinarden Junior School on Tuesday, January 31st.It will focus on providing useful health information and tips as well as answering audience questions.
Following on from this talk, there will be numerous events organised throughout the year in public venues across the Tallaght area, as part of the Public Health Education Series. Each will focus on a different topic and aim to increase public awareness and knowledge about staying healthy. Events will be open to all members of the public who wish to attend, free of charge. Details will be posted on the Hospitals website / facebook page, issued to local media and promoted by community groups.
Catherine Heaney, Chairperson of the PCAC and Fettercairn Community Health Project Co-Ordinator, welcomed the announcement, saying; “This series of talks and events will be of huge benefit to the local community around Tallaght Hospital. We have a growing and an ageing population, where health needs are constantly changing, so this is a very positive development. The community has a strong loyalty to Tallaght Hospital and it is great to see Tallaght Hospital return this loyalty by being an active participant in the community.”
Dr. Catherine Wall, Clinical Lead at Tallaght Hospital, said; “At Tallaght Hospital there is a long tradition of activism and involvement in the community. Our new Public Health Education Series will ensure that we continue this tradition by enabling that the public to gain knowledge insight from some of our leading healthcare practitioners. The ethos of “People Caring for People” is at the heart of everything we do, and this new initiative will bring this ethos to life in a proactive and educational manner. I look forward to the first event at the end of the month and I hope as many people as possible attend.”
About Tallaght Hospital
Tallaght Hospital is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, providing child-health, mental health and adult healthcare on one site. The Hospital has 495 adult beds and 67 paediatric beds, a staff of 2,600 people and an annual gross budget in excess of €250 million. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre.
Tallaght Hospital is a major teaching hospital of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in nursing, health and social care, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. The 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 New Children’s Hospital project and will be a key element of an integrated clinical network for paediatric services nationally.
The Hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 49,512 Adult Attendances and 33,717 Paediatric Attendances in 2016. A further 252,418 patients were treated through the Hospital’s adult and paediatric outpatient clinics in 2016. The Hospital’s operations are supported by 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
About the PCAC
Established in 2013 the Patient Community Advisory Council (PCAC) was set up with the support of the Executive Management Team of Tallaght Hospital. The PCAC is dedicated to the improvement of quality in patient care at Tallaght Hospital and help support the Hospital’s values.
The group meets 10 times a year provides an opportunity for the Hospital to hear directly from patients, users of our services on their experience during their patient journey with the Hospital. Provide feedback on current systems and processes in the hospital and give their thoughts on new systems being introduced and generate new ideas to improve the standard of care.
The PCAC is composed of groups representing the Community along with staff of the Hospital the current membership include community members: Catherine Heaney (Chair), Fettercairn Community Health Project; Ciaran Young (Vice Chair), Community Member special interest in the patient experience; Nuala Dignam, Community Member special interest in the people with intellectual disabilities; Marie Price Bolger, Trustus; Fran Keyes, Tallaght Travellers, Primary Healthcare Programme; Jim Lawlor, South Dublin County Council Forum. Tallaght Hospital Members: Carol Mullins (Patient Advocacy), Hilary Daly (Nursing), Joanne Coffey (Communications).
