Taoiseach and Minister for Health launch two Major Trauma Centres in significant step forward for the National Trauma Strategy

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly have today officially opened the Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin and Cork University Hospital.

The opening of the two Major Trauma Centres, in line with the vision of the national trauma strategy 'A Trauma System for Ireland', will further enable the provision of comprehensive trauma services across the country where patients will receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

The two Major Trauma Centres will provide the highest level of specialist trauma care to the most severely injured patients for the two trauma networks, the Central Trauma Network and the South Trauma Network. In addition to the two Major Trauma Centres being launched today, a network of Trauma Units will be developed in each trauma network to deliver more general trauma care to the majority of patients who do not need the specialist expertise of a Major Trauma Centre.

The vision for a national trauma system set out in A Trauma System for Ireland is to prevent unnecessary deaths, to reduce disabilities and to significantly improve the patient’s chances of attaining the fullest possible recovery.

Minister Donnelly welcomed the opening of the Major Trauma Centres at the Mater and CUH saying:

The MTC at the Mater will now begin to support a network of hospitals across the Central Trauma Network, accepting the transfer of severely injured patients from other networked hospitals. It is forecast that an additional 1,500 patients will be managed by the MTC at the Mater once the trauma system is fully operational. Similarly, the MTC at Cork University Hospital will support trauma across the South Trauma Network and is forecast that an additional 380 trauma patients will be managed at CUH once the Trauma System is fully established.

In this first phase of implementation of the Trauma Strategy, the government has invested significantly in the capacity and infrastructure required to support the delivery of major trauma services at the two MTCs, including €12.65 million revenue investment and almost €18 million capital investment at MMUH and CUH.

Welcoming the launch, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:

The CEO of the Health Service Executive (HSE), Bernard Gloster, said:

At the event in the Mater Hospital today, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health also opened the new Emergency Wing at the Mater Hospital. This new wing is known as the Rock Wing after Sr Margherita Rock, a former chairperson of the board of MMUH who dedicated her life to caring for others.

The new wing will provide additional capacity in the hospital, as well as providing accommodation for a range of specialty services. It also includes a trauma ward that will support the development of major trauma services at the MTC, as well as additional ICU beds to further deliver on the Strategic Plan for Critical Care. The Rock Wing will also include the new isolation beds to support the operation of the National Isolation Unit, an infectious disease ward and a respiratory medicine ward.

Trauma Strategy – A Trauma System for Ireland

• trauma refers to physical injuries of sudden onset and severity which require immediate medical attention. Traumatic injuries are categorised as low severity, moderate severity or severe, using an Injury Severity Score. Severe injury, signified by an Injury Severity Score of greater than 15, is also known as major trauma
• major trauma involves injuries which have the potential to cause prolonged disability or death, is the leading cause of death among children and young adults and is increasingly a cause of death among older adults. For each trauma fatality there are two survivors with serious or permanent disability (Nathens et al, 2001). Examples of major trauma include falls, road traffic collisions, and injuries to the head and spine
• on average, around 1,600 patients in Ireland suffer major trauma injuries each year. Patients with major trauma often require highly specialised care, extended hospital stays and extensive rehabilitation
• in 2018, Government approved the report, A Trauma System for Ireland, which was developed by a steering group established by the Department of Health. It set out the strategic vision for the development of trauma services in Ireland, informed by international best practice
• the report takes a whole-system approach, addressing all elements of the trauma care pathway including prevention, pre-hospital care, acute hospital care, rehabilitation and supported discharge
• the strategy recommends the establishment of an inclusive trauma system, where a network of facilities and services co-ordinate in the care of injured patients along standardised pathways. Inclusive trauma systems, in similar jurisdictions to Ireland, have been shown to significantly reduce the number of deaths and disabilities caused by major trauma
• the strategy recommended the establishment of two Trauma Networks, Central and South, each with a Major Trauma Centre (MTC) as the hub. It was recommended that Cork University Hospital (CUH) would be designated as the Major Trauma Centre (MTC) for the South Trauma Network
• also recommended were Trauma Units in each network for the treatment of injuries of a lesser severity. University Hospital Galway will be the Trauma Unit with Specialist Services (TUSS) within the Central Trauma Network
• in April 2021 Government approved the designation of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) as the Major Trauma Centre for the Central Trauma Network, and St Vincent’s University Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital as the Trauma Units for Dublin
• in this first phase of development of a Trauma System, the focus has been on the establishment of major trauma services in both MTCs, the Mater Hospital and in Cork University Hospital
• €12.65 million development funding has been provided to-date to support the recruitment of posts at MMUH and CUH
• capital investment at MMUH is providing three trauma resuscitation bays and diagnostic services in an extension to the existing Emergency Department (ED) with improved access to interventional radiology (due for completion Q2 2023)
• further capital investment will facilitate the further development of CUH’s ED as part of its requirements to operate as an MTC, delivering additional trauma resuscitation bays and a CT scanner in an expansion to the existing Emergency Department. This development has an estimated construction commencement by the end of Q2 2023

Opening of the Emergency Wing (Rock Wing), Mater Misericordia Hospital

• the new emergency wing, the Rock Wing, named in honour of the late Sr Margherita Rock, will include a total of 98 beds
• the building was progressed under COVID-19 Emergency legislation in April 2021
• it is estimated that the 13,500 square metre Rock Wing will cater for an additional 5,000 patients annually in world-class facilities
• the new wing will add to the capacity at the hospital in a number of specialty areas. It will provide for a new National Isolation Unit, as well as a respiratory ward and an infectious diseases ward
• additional critical beds will also be provided in line with the Strategic Plan for Critical Care
• an additional trauma ward will enable the development of services at the Mater Hospital Major Trauma Centre

The breakdown of the new building is as follows:

• Level 1 Entrance from Eccles Street Offices, retail, changing facilities
• Level 2 Trauma/Surgery Ward – 20-bed St Peter’s Ward
• Level 3 Critical Care - High Dependency Unit - 16 beds. These beds will greatly enhance the capacity of the Mater Hospital to care for the sickest patients in the country
• Level 4 COVID-19 pathway/Infectious Disease – 20-bed St Martha’s Ward
• Level 5 Respiratory ward – 20-bed John Sullivan Ward
• Levels 6 Infectious Diseases Ward – 20-bed St Bernard’s Ward
• Level 0 National Isolation Unit – Two beds