Paediatric services at Mercy will transfer to Cork University Hospital next week

THE transfer of paediatric services from the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) to Cork University Hospital (CUH), which will occur next week, has been described as “a transformative leap forward”.

The transfer of services, which had been expected for some time, has been confirmed by the South/South West Hospital Group (SSWHG) as planned to occur on Tuesday, June 25.

All scheduled inpatient and surgical paediatric care - with the exception of the paediatric out-patient department (OPD) - and all unscheduled inpatient paediatric care, will move from MUH to CUH.

Paediatric outpatient clinics will continue at the MUH OPD until further notice, while all adult care, scheduled and unscheduled, will remain unchanged.

From next week, the ambulance service will direct paediatric emergencies and acute care cases to CUH, and MUH will no longer have paediatric facilities available in its emergency department.

The new CUH paediatric department, combining both of the previous MUH and CUH paediatric departments, will cater for a centralised paediatric service within one location in Cork.

A new paediatric clinical governance structure has already been put in place, with the service is now led by a single clinical director.

In a statement, SSWHG said the new development would deliver high-quality care for children and would provide “much-needed paediatric care consistent with the HSE’s National Clinical Programme for Paediatrics and Clinical Care Pathways”.

'TRANSFORMATIVE'

Professor John R Higgins, CEO of the SSWHG said the consolidation of paediatric services from MUH to CUH represented “a transformative leap forward in our mission to provide top-tier, comprehensive, high-quality healthcare for children” in the region.

“The 2010 HSE reconfiguration of acute hospital services in Cork and Kerry recommended centralising paediatric hospital services in Cork city at CUH,” Prof Higgins said.

“CUH was designated as a regional centre in the 2016 Model of Care from the National Clinical Programme for Paediatrics and Neonatology, [and] will now serve as the primary location for these services.” 

Dr Dave Mullane, Clinical Director of Paediatrics CUH/MUH, said that bringing together the expertise and resources of MUH and CUH would ensure that children received the best possible care.

“Our dedicated paediatric consultants and specialists are committed to delivering exceptional care and support to children and their families, ensuring a seamless and beneficial transition for all involved,” he said.

The SSWHG said that, following the transfer, there will be significantly enhanced facilities and capacity for haematology/oncology services, which will now be co-located with the CUH/UCC cancer centre.

There will also be a single unified general paediatric service with an increase in ward capacity of 12 additional beds.

Children attending CUH will have the advantage of a comprehensive paediatric care system, the group added, describing the recently opened children’s emergency department at CUH as “state-of-the-art and led by dedicated paediatric emergency medicine consultants and speciality nursing staff”.