Private hospital facilities 'available to public patients'
A world-class private hospital officially opened today will care for public patients regardless of their background or income, it was vowed.
The 183-bed Beacon Hospital, at Sandyford in south Dublin, will provide acute care services, including heart surgery, neuro-surgery, and emergency medicine services.
Opening for patients next month, the €183m, nine-floor, complex will also have an oncology day treatment centre along with therapeutic radiography services.
Prof J Mark Redmond, a director of the hospital and whose idea was behind the project, said half the available capacity will be for public patients.
“Beacon Hospital’s world-class medical services and equipment, will be available to both public and private patients, regardless of background or income,” he said.
Health Minister Mary Harney unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the hospital, the first privately-funded hospital to be built in Dublin for more than two decades.
The hospital will house eight operating theatres – divided into dedicated rooms for neurosurgery, urology, cardiac, general, orthopaedic and ophthalmic surgery – two endoscopy suites and 14 critical care beds.
The open plan Critical Care Unit has 14 beds with individual glass-fronted cubicles, designed for privacy and to minimise the risk of infection.
Through a joint programme with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) in the US, the hospital said it plans to deliver the best cancer treatment available.
This will include the use of state-of-the-art radiotherapy and imaging services such as Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) which can destroy cancer cells while sparing the surrounding normal tissue.
The hospital will also operate a one-stop advanced radiology service, using the most up-to-date systems.
Among the innovative features are a computer system that will allow doctors to remotely access a patient’s treatment records and a fingerprinting system used to disperse drugs to patients.
Some 450 people will be employed at the hospital when it is fully operational. Treatments begin next month with additional services opening early next year.
These include a consultant-led emergency department, urology and musculoskeletal pain clinics, screening for the elderly, paediatrics and cancer screening.
Beacon will be managed by Triad Hospitals, one of the largest hospital operators in the US.
