Temple Street unveils €2 million upgrade of hospital ward

Dan Martin, Irish Professional Cyclist, opens new high tech ward funded by charitable donations

Dan Martin, Irish Professional Cyclist, officially opened the significantly upgraded 22 bedded St Joseph’s/ Top Flat Ward at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital today. Over 1,900 children are admitted to the Top Flat Ward every year. This upgrade was carried out at a cost of €2 million, with almost €1.65 million coming from charitable donations.

The newly refurbished ward which had not seen any significant improvements since the 1930’s, when hospital services and patient care were very different to today, has been redeveloped into a mix of four and two bedded units with four single isolation rooms. The four isolation rooms have been fitted with an air-pressurised controlled environment, essential for the treatment of patients vulnerable to infection, especially cystic fibrosis patients. One of the single rooms is also fitted out to monitor children with uncontrolled epilepsy.

The Top Flat refurbishment also included the installation of a Patient Entertainment System fitted at each bed space and a satellite schoolroom was added to the new Ward which facilitates patients from other wards in the hospital who cannot access the hospital’s main schoolroom

Bernie Priestly, mum to Triona, aged 15 years, who has cystic fibrosis and spends a significant amount of time in the Top Flat Ward said “This new facility is fantastic for us or any family that needs to be in isolation. For us it means coming into a safe place, something we were unsure we would ever see. It means that Triona can focus on fighting the infection and not having to worry about picking up anything else is a dream come true. ”

Speaking about the complete refurbishment of the Top Flat Ward at the official opening, Denise Fitzgerald, CEO, Temple Street’s Fundraising Charity said, “It is only with the support of our donors that this has been made possible. Every single donation and every fundraising event makes life better for sick children and their families in Temple Street. I want to sincerely thank all of our donors for everything they do for us, whether it’s supporting our appeals, selling raffle tickets or running marathons.”

Also speaking at the official opening, Dan Martin, World Number 6 Irish Professional Cyclist and DID Cycle4Life Ambassador said, “I have had the privilege of visiting the patients in Temple Street on a few occasions and last year got to see ‘Top Flat’ before it was refurbished. Temple Street is such a unique hospital that is now in its 141st year, so considering how old and dated some of the wards are, the continued dedication of the staff to these children, for me, is truly inspirational.”

“As you can imagine, seeing the newly refurbished Top Flat after only being here last year makes me so proud to be an ambassador for DID Cycle4life. Special thanks of course to the team that managed to deliver such a world leading, state of the art facility. Together, with the support of the corporate sponsors, the volunteers and all those that have donated and partaken in the annual DIDCycle4life, we have raised in excess of €350,000 for Temple Street. Seeing what has been achieved today, shows me that we all have the ability to make a real and lasting difference and makes all of us at DIDCycle4life even more determined to raise the bar at our next event on June 7th this year” continued Mr Martin.