Gerry Boland, JP McManus Trust; Colette Cowan, Director, UL Hospitals Group and former Director of Nursing at Nenagh hospital; and Prof Declan Lyons at the opening of the new 24-bed unit.

Neurological/stroke unit opened at UHL

A new era in the care of Parkinson’s patients in the Mid West was recently marked at University Hospital Limerick with a ceremony at the newly opened Neurological Centre/Acute Stroke Unit.

A plaque was unveiled in recognition of the contribution of the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland Mid West branch in developing the unit, and the generosity of JP and Noreen McManus and family.

The new unit opened in November 2015 and includes 24 inpatient beds, nine of which are dedicated to neurology, including Parkinson’s patients. It was completed at a capital cost of approximately €3 million, with additional equipment costs being met jointly by the Parkinson’s Association and the HSE/UL Hospitals Group.

The unit takes up one floor of the six­storey, €16.5 million Leben Building, a project delivered through a development agreement between the HSE and three charities which came together to form Leben Developments Ltd, namely the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland, the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland/TLC4CF, and the Mid­Western Hospitals Development Trust.

The unveiling ceremony took place during Parkinson’s Awareness Week and coincided with the launch at UHL of 'Meds on Time', a Parkinson’s Association campaign to ensure the timely administration of medication to patients in order to control their symptoms.

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s, with an incidence of one to two per 1,000 in the general population and one per 100 in the over­80s. It is accordingly estimated that there are approximately 680 people living with Parkinson’s disease in the Mid West (North Tipperary, Limerick and Clare).

Speaking at the unveiling, Una Anderson Ryan, Chairman of Special Projects, Parkinson’s Association of Ireland, said the new unit would greatly benefit the region’s growing Parkinson’s population. It is a far cry from the old ward 3B, where Parkinson’s patients were treated in an environment unfit for purpose.