Three of Ireland’s leading private hospitals and a diagnostic clinic are uniting in a new group, Blackrock Health. Blackrock, Galway, Hermitage and Limerick Clinics will now have the same overarching group structure called Blackrock Health
Dr Caroline Whelan is the CEO of the new group which brings together some of the most advanced hospitals in Irish private healthcare. She will head up a team of more than 2,800 staff and more than 600 consultants across 60 specialist areas. Together, the hospitals have a total of 450 inpatient beds including 28 ICU beds and 24 operating theatres, with expansion planned for the near future.
Each of the hospitals will continue to operate under its own name and deliver world class clinical care and world class comfort to its privately insured and self-paying patients. Together, they cared for more than 25,000 people on an in-patient basis and almost 200,000 out-patients last year.
The formation of the group unifies the hospitals under the one group structure, but there will be no change to how patients are referred to the individual hospitals and no impact in relation to patient health insurance.
Dr Whelan said: “Each of our hospitals has a very strong reputation for delivering excellence in clinical care while ensuring a personal, patient-centred approach and access to cutting edge treatments and technology. Coming together as a group will allow us to develop more specialties and services while streamlining healthcare delivery across the board and offering seamless referrals for our patients.”
“We will continue to put our patients first in everything that we do, ensuring quick and easy access to our modern hospitals, providing exceptional personal patient care.”
Chairperson of the new group, Bryan Harty, said: “Blackrock Health has a very supportive shareholder, who has been a consistent investor for 19 years. We have a strong balance sheet which means we will be able to invest in innovation and technology, infrastructure and in our people. This is an exciting and challenging time for healthcare in Ireland and Blackrock Health intends to play a leading role in ensuring patients have access to world class clinical care.”
Blackrock Clinic in Dublin has been a leader in the introduction of new technology and services in Ireland over its 35 year history, including PET-CT and TAVI, an advanced, minimally invasive technique to repair valves in the heart. It has a consultant body of more than 300 across 40 specialties, with a strong focus on cardiovascular health.
Galway Clinic is the leading provider of private cancer care in the west of Ireland since 2004, bringing CT and PET to the region. It has 120 consultants across 60 specialties.
Hermitage Clinic is a major specialty service provider in Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Cardiology and Cancer care. It was the first hospital in Ireland to provide Cyber-knife technology for treating certain cancers and mymobility to aid in patients’ recovery from orthopaedic surgery.
Limerick Clinic provides consultant suites and access to a range of diagnostic services including MRI, X-ray and high-tech ultrasound.
Clinical Director of Blackrock Health, Dr Margaret O’Donnell said: “Blackrock Health will initially have a focus on expanding acute cardiology and orthopaedic services in response to patient demand. For example, we are opening new Acute Cardiac Assessment Units in Blackrock, Galway and Hermitage Clinics and are already building a third cath lab in Blackrock Clinic. We continue to place huge emphasis on patient safety in all our hospitals, putting the patient first.”
“We look forward to the evolution of a united hospital group and serving all our patients under our new banner, Blackrock Health. We will be growing our expert team, achieving higher standards and even better outcomes for our patients.”
