The transfer of psychiatric services from St Loman's Hospital, Dublin, to the new £130 million hospital in Tallaght is to begin shortly following the resolution of a disagreement over the move. The board of the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, has said that following discussions with the Department of Health and Children and the Eastern Health Board, a solution has been agreed, enabling the transfer to take place "as soon as possible".
The board had previously appealed for the transfer - to a new 56-bed psychiatric facility in Tallaght - to be deferred until next year for logistical and clinical reasons.
However, the health board has agreed to provide and manage an additional 35-bed facility in the region for patients from St Loman's. The Adelaide and Meath Hospital Board said this facility would be used to cater for patients who might otherwise inappropriately occupy acute beds in Tallaght.
The chairman of the board, Mrs Rosemary French, said it welcomed the development, "which ensures that the services from St Loman's Hospital need not now be deferred and that the transfer of services from the Adelaide, the Meath and the National Children's Hospitals remains on target for Sunday June 21st, 1998."
Meanwhile, the South Dublin Branch of the Irish Kidney Association has expressed its concern at the new haemo-dialysis unit at Tallaght hospital.
It said the unit would open with facilities to treat only seven patients instead of 14 as planned. The group said "no patients should be moved to Tallaght until such time as full facilities are in place".
It said the estimated cost of providing the necessary additional equipment, including dialysis machines, was about £120,000, "a minimal amount when compared to the overall cost of the hospital".
The group also expressed concern at car-parking facilities at the hospital which would be run by a private company charging users £1 an hour.
"This will mean that dialysis patients, who must attend the hospital on three days per week for four to five hours per day, will have to pay £15£20 per week to avail of the new unit."
The criticism followed an appeal by the Fine Gael health spokesman, Mr Alan Shatter, for additional funding to ensure the hospital was fully operational on its opening date.
Speaking after a visit to the new facility with the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, yesterday, Mr Shatter said there was a funding shortfall of between £25 m and £30 m. He said that only six, at most, of the hospital's 12 operating theatres would be operational from June 21st because of a shortage of about 16 staff nurses.
"The Minister needs to spell out what plans he has on recruiting staff, and there are a whole series of other areas which need to be addressed," said Mr Shatter. He was joined on the Tallaght visit by members of the hospital board and local TDs Mr Brian Hayes and Mr Conor Lenihan.
