‘My Medicines’ helps patients manage medication
In the National Inpatient Experience Survey, 65% of our patients in UHL said that the purpose of the medications they were taking was not explained to them .
‘My Medicines’ is a way patients can record an up to date list of their medications and supplements. It can also be used by medical staff to explain to patients why they are taking different medications. The ‘My Medicines’ list belongs to the patient so if required it can be copied but the original should be returned to the patient.
Please contact Gavin at ipmsupport@hse.ie to include ‘My Medicines’ as part of appointment letters sent from your department . This will help patients keep an up to date list of their medications and understand why they are taking them.
Day out for young diabetic service users
The Paediatric Diabetes Team hosted a group of 19 young people with Type 1 Diabetes from UHL on a trip to the UL Adventure Centre in Killaloe.
This provides a great opportunity for teens with diabetes to engage with each other through fun team building activities and enhances peer support.
Top Up Your Protection: Get Vaccinated
This year's staff vaccination campaign will commence next week. Below are just some of the great reasons to get your free Flu & Covid booster vaccines as soon as possible .
Weekly Draw prizes : 1st prize Fitbit, 2nd prize Tablet, 3rd prize headphones
Re-launch Staff Car Pooling Scheme, UHL
The staff Car Pooling Scheme will commence again on Monday 25th September.
The new location, on the hill opposite 5B will have 50 spaces for staff who are car pooling. There will be a barrier in place which is swipe access only.
All existing permit holders are required to send on their name and ID badge number to uhl@eurocarparks.ie in order to gain access to the carpooling car park.
If you wish to take part in this car pooling scheme fill out the application form which is located on the iHub.
Health & Wellbeing Conference
UL Hospitals Group were delighted to host the first Health & Wellbeing Conference on Wednesday 19th September. A number of topics were presented such as Mindfulness, how to deal with compassion fatigue & burnout, health inequalities in the Midwest and ‘winning teams for better health’.
New NCHD Leads appointed
New NCHDs Leads have been appointed. They provide a formal link and two-way flow of engagement and communication between management and NCHDs.
| NCHD Lead | Area |
| Dr Mary Byrne | Diagnostics |
| Dr Sean Flynn | Peri Op |
| Dr Joyce Tan | Medicine |
| Dr Ruth Hutch | Cancer Services |
| Dr Tomas McHugh | Antimicrobial |
| Dr Callum Swift | Urgent and Emergency Care |
| Dr Beethue Raksha Devi | Obstetrics/Gynaecology/Child & Maternal Health |
Pictured: NCHD leads with Dr John Mc Manus NDTP Training Lead, Mairead de Brun and Verity Hayes NDTP Coordinators. Missing from picture: Dr Beethue Raksha Devi
Decontamination Demonstration at UHL
On the 7th September, staff took part in a decontamination demonstration carried out at UHL by colleagues from the National Ambulance Service (NAS).
Such demonstrations, simulations and other training exercises are regularly carried out as part of major emergency planning in the region.
The demonstration was co-ordinated by the HSE Emergency Management West office and focused on a potential incident where decontamination is required before accessing the hospital (e.g. infectious disease, chemical spill etc.).
Pictured: Laura Foley, CNM3 Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate; Eoin Kennedy, Major Emergency Planning Manager; Tina Fitzgerald, Directorate General Manager, Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate; Dr Joe Kelly, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Nora Barry, General Manager, Health and Safety/Major Emergency Planning
Pictured: John Campbell, NAS Lead in Emerging Threats, demonstrating capabilities of the NAS decontamination unit to ED staff at UHL
New Appointment
Welcome Dr Alwin Sebastian, Consultant Rheumatologist and General Physician.
From Sri Lanka, Dr Sebastian has been working in Ireland since 2011, and completed his dual-specialty training in General Internal Medicine and Rheumatology here in the Midwest, Galway, Dublin and in the UK.
As a Consultant Rheumatologist and General Physician, Dr Sebastian has general rheumatology clinics at UHL and Ennis. He has general medical and rheumatology inpatients at UHL. He also specialises in diagnostic Muscular-skeletal and vascular ultrasound and ultrasound-guided joint and soft tissue injections at the rheumatology day ward in Croom Orthopaedic Hospital.
For more information on Dr Sebastian visit the UL Hospitals Group website
Read Mór
To celebrate Culture Night 2023 on Friday 22nd September the Arts Council in collaboration with the HSE visited a number of hospitals across the country.
A small team from the Arts Council visited Ennis & Croom hospitals as ‘book doctors’ and gifted books to patients.
Patients who receive books are encouraged to share the joy of reading by re-gifting their book once they have read it.
Helen O’Donoghue, Assistant Director of Nursing, Ailis Walsh, Staff Nurse, Margaret Watson Clinical Nurse Manager 1 with Book Doctors Arts council ambassadors.
Eleanor Mann, Site Administrator/Business Manager Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, Alan O’Gorman, Director of Nursing Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, Suzanne Dunne, Chief of Strategy and Transformation & Eimear Laffan, Healthy Ireland Project manager ULHG
Day of Surgery Admissions (DOSA)
The data shows the share of patients who had their elective principal procedure on day of admission for the first six months of 2023. The national target is 75%.
Benefits of DOSA include:
Source: BIU MDR Data July 2023
CERC Simulation Lab Launch
The CERC Simulation Lab was officially launched on Thursday 14th September.
Two rooms on the second floor of CERC were refurbished to work as a simulation space to enable realistic clinical scenarios.
The rooms were completed in June 2022. They have been essential in furthering teaching for undergraduate doctors and nurses with the aid of complex manikins with physiological properties and desktop trainers which are used to substitute patients.
Some of the training facilitated by the simulation lab includes: IV insertion, airway management, childbirth & paediatrics assessment.
For more information email CERCSimulation@ul.ie
Dr Ammar Ahmed (CSTEM3) acting as a paramedic, Dr Mary-Beth Brown (School of Medicine Y2), Dr Connor Pires (SoM Y2), Dr Jasmine Blenkins-O’Callaghan (SoM Y3), Dr Janai Puckett (SoM Y3) and Dr Eoin Donellan (SoM Y3).
Dr Alan Watts, Dr Mary-Beth Brown (SoM Y2), Dr Connor Pires (SoM Y2).
We are now on Instagram
UL Hospitals Group is now on Instagram.
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We will share news and updates on our people and our services as well as provide valuable healthcare information to our community.
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