Medical services
Pathology Department
General Information
Opening Hours:
- 00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m., including lunch hour, Monday to Friday
- 00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m., including lunch hour, Monday to Friday for delivery of specimens for analysis.
Access to Service:
Laboratory investigations are carried out via request from Consultant Clinical Staff at Dogma Hospital Ltd..
The Pathology Department also provide a service for laboratory testing to General Practitioners.
Patients and General Practitioners should deliver specimens to Pathology Reception between 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m., including lunch hour, Monday to Friday. Specimens should not be delivered outside of these hours.
Information for General Practitioners
Clinical details are essential for interpreting results and determining additional testing. Please supply as much clinical information as possible.
It is essential to deliver the samples to the laboratory as speedily as possible due to the labile nature of many of the components measured in the laboratory.
Samples for General Clinical Chemistry must arrive in the laboratory within 4 hours of sampling
Specimen and Request Form Requirements
Request Form – Mandatory Requirements
Pathology Request forms are available from the Pathology Department. The Request Form must contain sufficient information to uniquely identify the patient and the tests requested:
- Patient’s legal first name
- Patient’s surname
- Patient’s date of birth
- Patient’s full address
- Requesting Clinician/G.P.
- Location/Ward for communication of results
- Requested tests must be clearly stated
Request Form – Additional Information
The request form should contain:
- Date and time of collection
- Name of person drawing/collecting the specimen
- Relevant and appropriate clinical information, including medications
Sample –Mandatory Requirements
The laboratory requires that all submitted specimens be clearly labeled with a minimum of two patient identifiers
- Patient’s legal first name and surname
- Patient’s date of birth or Patient’s Hospital Number
Sample – Additional Requirements
- Date and time of sample collection
- Specimen source
Clinical Details and Tests Requested
The laboratory cannot process the sample unless:
- The sample and corresponding request form are unambiguously matched
- The tests requested are clearly specified
- The appropriate specimens are received for the requested tests
Access to Pathology Reports
The results of laboratory tests will be made available to patients through their Clinician or General Practitioner, not directly from the laboratory.
The result of routine examinations are normally available within 24 hours. More specialised investigations may take longer.
Results are posted to General Practitioners daily Monday to Friday.
It is the policy of the Pathology Department to telephone all urgent or abnormal results to the requesting clinician, subject to define criteria within each laboratory.
X-Ray/Ultrasound Department
The Radiology Department provides a high quality diagnostic service to in-patients, out-patients, day care and A&E patients by means of X-rays and Ultrasound scans. These radiological services provide images to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday
| Time | Service Provided |
| 8.30 a.m. – 8.00 p.m. | Accident & Emergency Referrals |
| 8.30 a.m. – 4.00 p.m. | Day Ward Referrals |
| 8.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. | G.P. Referrals (for X-Ray only) |
| 8.30 a.m. – 8.00 p.m. | In-Patient Referrals |
GP X-Ray referrals for under 16′s should contact University Hospital Limerick for appointments.
Access to Service:
Requests for X-Ray/Ultrasound examinations are accepted from Doctors and Dentists only.
To avoid disappointment, we would prefer all out-patients to have appointments for examinations. Appointments can be made in person or by posting the request letter/card to the Radiology Office (contact details below).
There is a 24 hour on-call and weekend emergency service for in-patients only
Contact Details
| DEPARTMENT | BUSINESS HOURS | NUMBER |
| Office (Reception / Appointments) | 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. Monday – Friday (closed lunch 1.00-2.00 p.m.) |
061-462120 (9am – 11am only) |
Continence Care
General Information
This service aims to improve the quality of life for all patients with bladder or bowel problems who have felt:
- Disabled by, embarrassed and often socially isolated by their condition
- Reluctant to seek help within their family and community
- Unaware of treatments available to cure or manage their condition
Service Offered
- All patients are treated with sensitivity, understanding and confidentiality and receive an individualised assessment and treatment plan.
- Regular review to monitor, advise and support outcome of treatments
- Specialist advice on treatment options and ranges of products available for specific continence problems
Diabetic Care
General Information
The Diabetes Nurse Specialist plays a pivotal role within the multidisciplinary care team i.e. Medical personnel (can include Ophthmalogists, Nephrologists. Vascular surgeon and Cardiologist) Nursing staff, Dietician and Chiropodist. The team aims to deliver effective patient education using a patient centred approach.
The Diabetes Nurse Specialist aims to provide education to diabetes patients and their careers enabling the patient to gain necessary knowledge and skill to manage their diabetes and enable them to learn to live a full active and healthy life.
The Diabetes Nurse Specialist service includes:
Clinical Focus
- To organise and provide assessment, planning and implementation of care for diabetes patients and their significant others.
- To act as an advocate for patients on clinical matters, service provision and empowering patients to become self dependent.
- To act as a resource person for diabetes patients and careers
- A telephone advice service is available for ongoing assistance and help.
Education
- Education is a vital component of diabetes care.
- Education is provided verbally, written information, audio visual and devices are also provided.
- Education is tailored to suit the patient individual needs realistic educational and treatment goals are set in collaboration with the patient and their career
- Education is also provided to Medical and Nursing staff on an ongoing basis both structured and non-structured as the needs arises.
- The service liaises with General Practitioners, Practices Nurses, Public health nurses, Nursing home and community groups acting as an advisor and educator.
- Education is delivered using an evidence based practice approach with up to date research.
Audit and Research
- This is a vital component of the service to ensure the service is evidence based and aims to improve the standard of care provided.
- The effectiveness of the service is evaluated and its performance measured on an on-going basis thereby improving patient outcomes
Diabetes Bangladesh Website
Infection Control
The Infection Control service aims to deliver a specialist resource for all individual healthcare workers. It provides support for all caregivers in the hospital setting in relation to solving problems concerning the prevention of disease outbreaks and managing such outbreaks. Within the Hospital environs, there is an Infection Control Committee who meet on a regular basis. There is also the on-going support of a Microbiologist, who attends St.John’s Hospital weekly to give advice and support relating to infection control issues.
The aims of infection control include; provision of advice on prevention and control of infection, staff education, identification of infection hazards, monitoring of infection control procedures through regular ward based audits, development and implementation of infection control guidelines, managing outbreaks of infection and maintaining data pertaining to such outbreaks.
One of the main challenges in infection control is to ensure all systems are in place to reduce cross infection within the clinical areas and to control and overcome outbreaks of particular infections if /when they should occur.
Pain Management
General Information
The aim of the Pain Management Team is to enhance the quality of life for people suffering from both acute (surgical pain), and chronic pain. The Pain Management Team consists of Dr.W.Lan, (Pain Consultant), P.Moloney (CNS Pain Management), P. Murphy (Research Pharmacist), and Physiotherapy.
Acute or Postoperative Pain
Unrelieved pain after surgery can result in a number of harmful effects on the body. Severe pain can increase stress on the body that is already trying to cope with healing and repair after surgery. Pain can result in muscle spasm, this may cause fatigue or tiredness that may make daily activities such as walking, moving in bed, and washing and dressing difficult to do.
Together with the Anaesthetists we aim to provide the highest standard of postoperative pain management to all patients with acute pain. We conduct daily acute pain rounds, reviewing all postoperative patients. We provide advice, education, and discharge advice regarding pain medication to patients. We also look at the side effects of analgesia (pain relieving medications) and suggest ways of reducing these.
The Pain Management Team carries out continuous audits, in order to identify ways in which we can improve our service, and promote an evidence based approach to postoperative pain management.
Education
A major role of the Pain Management Team is the education of staff at St.John’s Hospital with regard to pain management. We also act as a resource, in which staff can contact us if they require any help or advice. Patient education is also an important aspect of our service, we developed an information leaflet called “Your Pain Relief following surgery”, all patients who are scheduled for surgery will be able to receive a copy of this leaflet. This leaflet aims to explain the importance of postoperative pain management, and to hopefully answer any questions you may be reluctant to ask, that may affect the quality of pain relief after surgery.
Chronic Pain
The Pain Management Team work in collaboration with all members of staff in the hospital. For some patients who are admitted with chronic pain, they may be referred to the Pain Management Team for advice on analgesia, or a pain intervention procedure.
Physiotherapy Department
General Information
The Department of Physiotherapy is staffed by Chartered Physiotherapists providing treatment for both in-patient and out-patients, ensuring that patients safely achieve their maximum potential in the shortest possible time.
Physiotherapy achieves this through assessment followed by individualised treatment using electrotherapy modalities, manual techniques, exercise programmes and patient/carer education.
Location of the Physiotherapy Department
The Department is located on the ground floor of the main hospital.
Access to the Physiotherapy Department
Out-Patient Physiotherapy is available only to patients with referrals from Dogma Hospital Ltd. Doctors. Patients who are referred by these doctors to other hospitals for specialist consultations are also accepted back for physiotherapy. All patients requiring physiotherapy must have a referral letter/form from the referring doctor. Due to the demand for the physiotherapy service exceeding the capacity of this facility to provide it, there is a waiting list. Patients will be placed on this waiting list on receipt of the appropriate referral letter.
Charges for Services
There is no charge for physiotherapy services in this department regardless of the patients ability to pay.
Contact Details
Physiotherapy Manager –
Palliative Care
General Information
Palliative Care is the continuing active total care of patients and their families, at a time when the medical expectation is no longer cure. Palliative care responds to physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs and extends to support in bereavement. The goal for Palliative Care is the highest possible quality of life for the patient and family.
The specialist Palliative Care Service works alongside existing hospital teams in an advisory and supportive capacity
Services Offered
- Advice on pain and symptom management
- Advice and support to patients and their families/carers
- Advice and support to staff
- Liaison between hospitals, community carers and hospice
- Formal and informal education for patients, families/carers and staff
Who to refer
Palliative care is appropriate for patients with cancer and any other life-threatening illness such as motor neuron disease and COPD
Referral is important where there is:
- Difficult and distressing symptoms
- Rapidly progressing disease
- Psychological distress in the patient or family in relation to diagnosis, prognosis, or symptom management
When to refer
- Early referral is essential
- Active treatment or investigations should not be a reason to delay referral, especially where there is poor symptom control and distress
The patient does not need to be aware of diagnosis prior to referral
Respiratory Care
General Information
This service provides an accessible and personalised support service to respiratory patients and their families/carers.
The Respiratory Nurse Specialist aims to ensure that the specialized respiratory knowledge and skills that are available are utilized, to facilitate provision of a quality and seamless patient-focused service that enhances the health status of the people she serves.
Activities include:
Clinical focus
Provide individualised assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of care given to respiratory patients and their families.
Education
Education is a key component of patient consultations. We offer written and verbal advice and devise self–help management plans, in collaboration with our patients, empowering them to maximise their health.
This service also acts as resource/advisor to Medical and Nursing staff, Practise Nurses, Public Health Nurses, and Nursing Homes to ensure latest evidence-based respiratory practise.
Patient advocate
Advocate for individual and patient groups on:
- clinical matters
- service provision
- Accessing other services
- Empowering patients to be self-advocates
Audit
This is an important component of our work, as this process enables us to measure performance and patient outcomes, thereby improving the service we provide to our patients.
Health Information
- The pages in this section are:
- Health Information
- Alcohol Information
- Asthma Information
- Continence Information
- COPD Information
- Diabetes Information
- Healthy Eating and Activity Information
- Mens Health Information
- Smoking Information
- Womens Health Information
- Health Information
Departments
- Pathology Department
- X-Ray/Ultrasound Department
- Diabetic Care
- Infection Control
- Pain Management
- Physiotherapy Department
- Palliative Care
- Respiratory Care
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health Information