New dermatology unit opens at UHL
The new home of specialist dermatological services at University Hospital Limerick provides new treatments, added capacity and a much improved environment for patients with skin conditions and cancers from all over the Mid West.
It is the first time the people in the region have received specialist dermatological services in a purpose-built department at UHL, where the dermatology until recently operated from a single dedicated room. The Charles Centre for Dermatology, which occupies the entire fifth floor of the Leben Building, was developed by the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust. With construction costs of approximately €2.2 million, the new unit was made possible through the generous funding of the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am.
In addition, the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust supported the purchase of a Reflectance Confocal Microscope (RCM) at a cost of €150,000 in 2011. This was the first RCM to be available for full-time use in a dermatology department in Britain and Ireland. It enables a virtual non-invasive biopsy of the skin and enhances diagnosis of skin cancers.
The new department is named after the Charles family, members of which were essential in founding and running the City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital on Hume Street. The hospital was founded in 1911 by Dr Andrew Charles. Many patients from the Mid West were cared for in the hospital in the past. In addition, a number of UHL's consultant and nursing staff worked and gained valuable skills in this institution.
Speaking at the official opening in Limerick, Prof Niall O’Higgins, Chairman, UL Hospitals Group, said: “During the past five years, the development of specialist services at the UL Hospitals Group has been astonishing... The Charles Centre provides further evidence that the UL Hospitals Group remains on target to be among the best providers of hospital services in Ireland by 2018.”
Prof Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, said the group is responding to “significant increased demand at UL Hospitals for dermatology services, with new referrals having increased by 132% over the last four years. It is appropriate then that this growing cohort of patients should have access to more modern treatments in a more appropriate environment.”
This new department allows for the development of a range of services at Limerick, Nenagh and Ennis hospitals, which will greatly enhance patient access to dermatology services across the Mid West region. It caters for approximately 12,000 outpatient consultant visits per annum with additional clinics by an advanced nurse practitioner.