11th April 2018 The 2018 Tallaght University Hospital Summer 99 Charity Cycle has been officially launched with participants encouraged to register for the annual charity cycle which will take place on June 23rd.
This year the End of Life Care Service will be the recipient of funds raised from the Summer 99 Charity Cycle. Funds raised will be allocated towards the refurbishment of two family rooms within the Hospital. These rooms are designed to provide families with a quiet and peaceful environment to meet members of the team caring for their relative, receive bad news in private and also enable family members to stay overnight if their loved one is seriously ill or dying.
Now in its fourth year, the charity cycle has raised nearly €65,000 for the Intensive Care Unit, Renal and Stroke services over the past three years.
The charity cycle has grown in popularity with over 300 cyclists taking part since the initiative started. Registration is €50 and closes on June 15th or when the 200th cyclist registers. The entry fee includes a cycling jersey and refreshments which will be provided on the day.
Cyclists have a choice between two routes, 50km or 99km. The routes begin and end at Tallaght University Hospital and take in scenic areas of the Wicklow mountains including Brittas Bay and Blessington Lakes. Additionally, there are two stationary cycles held, one in The Square (May 12th) and the other in the Hospital atrium (June 7th) to promote the event and kick off fundraising.
Tallaght University Hospital CEO David Slevin said, “The Summer 99 Charity Cycle has become an annual event that is very much looked forward to by all involved and I am looking forward to taking part in the cycle again this year. The funds raised will help support the End of Life Care Service to give family rooms on the Maguire and Crampton Wards a makeover and provide some respite for families at a time of great distress. I would like to acknowledge the enormous effort and commitment from the Summer 99 Crew that organise this event each year and the commercial support the initiative receives from the local community by way of sponsorship and donations.”
Tallaght University Hospital End of Life Care Co-Ordinator Ann Hickey said, “We are delighted that the End of Life Care Service will be the recipients of the funds raised by the 2018 charity cycle. The refurbishment of the rooms on the busy Maguire and Crampton Wards will provide essential quiet and private spaces for families whose relatives are seriously ill. These rooms will also be available for medical teams to discuss treatment plans with patients and their families, these are also spaces where families can absorb bad news away from the busy ward and where they can stay overnight when a family member is gravely ill or dying. The rooms will be refurbished in line with guidelines from the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme to ensure they create a soothing and calm atmosphere.”
For further information on the events and how to register, please see click on this link or use this link http://bit.ly/2GNdqxL
Corporate partners wishing to provide support can email Summer99@amnch.ie
ENDS
About Tallaght University Hospital
Tallaght University 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 495 adult beds and 67 paediatric bed with over 3,000 people on 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 University Hospital is one of the 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 University Hospital is uniquely part of both the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group and the Children’s Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
A new satellite centre is to be built at Tallaght University 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 50,286 Adult Attendances and 32,886 Paediatric Attendances in 2017. A further 291,483 patients were treated through the Hospital’s adult and paediatric outpatient clinics in 2017. The Hospital’s operations are supported by 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
