Blackrock Clinic’s Emergency Department Celebrates 5 Years

2nd Jul 2015

Department has tripled in size as demand for private emergency care grows

The Emergency Department at Blackrock Clinic has doubled its beds and grown to triple its size in the five years since the hospital has offered the service.

The new Emergency Department (ED), opened late in 2014, offers a number of advantages:

• The majority of cases are treated quickly, with 97% given a final decision on discharge or hospital admission within 6 hours of coming to the ED;
• Emergency Department patients can be admitted to the 168-bedroom acute private hospital with its 8 high-tech and progressive operating theatres and an advanced ICU with 12 beds and 2 isolation bays;
• The Blackrock Clinic Emergency Department is open longer hours than any other private ED in Dublin – 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am-5pm on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays;
• The ED is the first to use glass-partitioned cubicles, which gives auditory privacy to patients and their families;
• The facility is filled with natural light and offers additional reception and waiting space;
• The hospital has its own branded, private ambulance, operated by Medicall Ambulance Service. This allows patients to order transport by private ambulance to the hospital’s Emergency Department or for an elective procedure.

“There has been a huge surge in demand for the services of the private ED at Blackrock Clinic since it opened,” said Mr Aidan Gleeson, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Clinical Director, Blackrock Clinic, Emergency Department.

“By expanding the facility and extending opening hours, the hospital has simply reacted to the number of people coming through its doors. This shows a growing trend where patients value what EDs attached to private, acute hospitals have to offer,” he added.

“Approximately 30,000 patients use private Emergency Departments in Dublin every year” said Bryan Harty, CEO of Blackrock Clinic.

“This equates to the patient levels of an A&E in a large public hospital . As a result, the private sector complements the capital’s emergency medicine services and relieves some pressure from the system,” he added.

“Blackrock Clinic is leading current trends in independent emergency medicine in Ireland.

This is one of the most high-tech, cutting edge, thoughtfully designed and spacious ED facilities in Ireland and abroad,” he concluded.