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Children’s hospital reopens clinic

Friday, 15 January 2010

TEMPLE Street Children’s Hospital has reopened its respiratory clinic to GP referrals following a six-month suspension caused by a two-year backlog in patient referrals. The hospital refuted media reports last week that the clinic had closed by confirming that it was in fact now taking referrals again after stopping them last spring. The clinic was closed to GP referrals back in March of last year in an effort ease a lengthy backlog, which the hospital felt was “unacceptable”. The respiratory clinic treats children with serious conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, asthma, recurrent pneumonia and bronchitis. However, news of the temporary suspension of GP referrals only broke last week following a statement by Dr James Reilly, Fine Gael spokesperson on health. The subsequent media coverage triggered widespread confusion and anxiety among parents of sick children and doctors who had been informed that the respiratory clinic would recommence its acceptance of GP referrals in January. A spokesperson for Temple Street Hospital told Northside People that the timing of the media coverage led to confusion, particularly since the suspension of respiratory referrals had been lifted this month. She confirmed that the hospital was temporarily forced to suspend taking routine GP referrals in an attempt to clear a significant backlog. “During this time additional outpatient clinics have been held and a validation exercise was carried out on the respiratory waiting list to ensure that it was accurate and that the children still required an appointment,” she explained. “This combined approach has resulted in the reduction of the waiting time for a routine respiratory referral to six months and six weeks for urgent referrals as of last month.” The hospital recommenced the process of accepting referrals from the start of the new year. “In addition, a second consultant respiratory physician will take up her appointment in April 2010 which should help reduce the waiting times further,” the Temple Street Hospital spokesperson stated. “The hospital fundraising office engaged in extensive fundraising activity to facilitate the development of a dedicated Cystic Fibrosis and respiratory outpatient unit.” The total cost of the unit was e3.175 million which includes a e705,000 contribution from the HSE. The new facility will be officially opened early this year.