If you are recommended for inpatient care, you may be staying in one of our three approved centres: St Patrick’s University Hospital, St Patrick’s, Lucan or Willow Grove Adolescent Unit.
During the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, a member of our Referrals and Admissions Service will contact you on the day before you are due to arrive at the centre to carry out a screening protocol against coronavirus.
On the day you arrive at the centre, the first person you meet will be a member of our reception staff. They will direct you to the Assessment Centre, where you will be greeted by the Admissions Officer or the Clinical Nurse Manager between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday and 9am until 1pm on Saturday.
If you arrive outside of these hours, you will be greeted by a member of the nursing staff or by the receptionist, who will then notify the admitting doctor of your arrival. There may be a short wait if there are others waiting for assessment and admission or during lunch, but we will try to keep your waiting period to a minimum.
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Admission
The Admissions Officer will complete the necessary admission forms with you and a member of the nursing team will carry out a short physical examination; this will include a screening protocol against coronavirus. Any risk factors which may be identified will be considered with a doctor. When this stage is completed, you will be accompanied to your ward by a member of the nursing staff, and given some time to settle in.
A member of the nursing staff and the admitting doctor or registrar will talk to you about your mental health. As part of this assessment, the admitting doctor will ask you some questions related to your personal and family situation, your work (if applicable) and social background, as well as questions about your symptoms and how you have been feeling.
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Your care and treatment
Treatment and care is provided by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) consisting of psychiatrists, registrars, ward based nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, psychologists, cognitive behavioural therapists, family therapists and other mental health professionals where suitable.
Your MDT will develop an overall and individualised treatment and care plan for you.
Your key worker
Your key worker is the health professional responsible for making sure that you and your MDT work to your individual agreed care plan. Your key worker may be a nurse, doctor, social worker, occupational therapist, psychologist, therapist or counsellor. Your key worker keeps in contact with you and acts as a link between you and the other members of your MDT while you are in hospital.
You will be assigned your key worker when the MDT looking after your care meets. They will arrange to meet you within 72 hours of this team meeting to discuss your care plan and your recovery.
You will also be allocated an associate key worker who will take over responsibility for carrying out your key worker role at times when your key worker is on leave.
What is the role of my key worker?
The role of your key worker is to:
- Coordinate the planning of your care with your MDT
- Liaise with you and your family or, if appropriate, your carer or chosen advocate (with your consent or in the case of a young person under 18)
- Liaise with other healthcare professionals within the hospital and with your general practitioner/primary care team, community mental health team and any other relevant outside agencies
- Coordinate your discharge from hospital
- Ensure that you and, with your permission, your family, carer or advocate are involved with other members of your MDT in discharge decisions. They will ensure that your MDT has filled in any relevant paperwork and will also make sure that the team talks with the GP, primary care team, community mental health services or other agencies outside the hospital when this is appropriate.
We are committed to your recovery. In order to facilitate this, discharge planning begins soon after admission to help you focus on getting well and leaving hospital.
Therapeutic leave from hospital
Therapeutic leave is part of your overall treatment and care plan. As part of your preparation for discharge, you will be encouraged to leave hospital for a short period of time to assist you in your transition from the hospital back to your home life. This will be arranged with you and your family or carer, and it gives your MDT an idea of how far along you are on your journey to recovery.
While temporary therapeutic leave, such as over a weekend, is not currently available for infection control measures during the coronavirus outbreak, you may be offered extended therapeutic leave of up to 13 days when you are nearing the end of your stay, if this is appropriate for you.
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Hospital activities
We have a large array of programmes and therapies available as part of your care plan. St Patrick's University Hospital, St Patrick's, Lucan and Willow Grove also facilitate a wide range of activities, which are designed to promote both your physical and mental wellbeing.
These activities include art, pottery, physical exercise, gardening and much more.
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Aftercare
When you are being discharged from hospital, your follow-up care will be discussed with you. This may be a follow-up appointment in one of our Dean Clinics, attendance at a day care programme or attendance at an aftercare group. During the coronavirus outbreak, these appointments or programmes may be offered to you remotely. Where possible, you will receive the information about the programme and/or your appointment before you leave.
Your first follow-up appointment in the Dean Clinic will be free of charge. If you have not finished an inpatient programme and are being discharged to your home, you may have to complete the programme as a day patient. In this case, you will be invited to register as a day patient by completing and returning an insurance form in a stamped addressed envelope, which will be sent to you by post. Once we receive the signed form, you will invited by email to access the programme by phone or video.
Frequently asked questions
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How do I find St Patrick’s University Hospital?
Hospital location
Travelling to St Patrick’s University Hospital is very simple. Situated on Steeven’s Lane, between Heuston Station and St James’s Hospital, St Patrick’s is well served by public transport, with bus, rail and LUAS services all within a five to ten minute walk from the hospital. Limited paid parking is also available for visitors travelling by car.
Rail information
Heuston Station is less than a five-minute walk from St Patrick’s University Hospital.
LUAS information
The Red Line LUAS runs every five minutes from the city centre and makes a quick link to St Patrick's. The journey takes between five and ten minutes from the city centre. You need to get off at the Heuston Station stop and the hospital is a five minute walk from there.
Bus information
The bus routes below stop nearby to the hospital.
- 13 | 40 | 123 to James' Street / Thomas Street
- 25/A/B | 66/A | 67 | 69 | 79/A | 90 | 145 | 747 to Heuston Station.
From either of these locations, it is a three minute walk to the hospital.
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Is there car parking available?
St Patrick's University Hospital has pay car parking located on Steeven's Lane. The car park rate is €2.20 per hour with a maximum daily charge of €14. You may also purchase a weekly ticket for €25 and a monthly ticket for €75. Weekly and monthly tickets are available in the hospital shop.
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How do I find St Patrick's, Lucan (St Edmundsbury)?
St Patrick's, Lucan (St Edmundsbury) is based in Lucan, County Dublin. It is set in its own grounds near the M50/N11 interchange at Lucan.
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Is there car parking available?
There is limited free car parking on the grounds of St Patrick's, Lucan.
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Who can accompany me to the hospital?
We recognise that coming into hospital can be difficult and would encourage you to ask a family member, relative or friend to accompany you. Children are allowed in the assessment unit, but must be accompanied at all times by a supervising adult.
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What clothes do I need to bring with me?
When you come into hospital, you will generally be encouraged to get up and dressed each day. Therefore, you should bring casual clothes as well as night clothes. You will also need to bring toiletries with you. If you are well enough to attend the gym, you should bring appropriate clothing with you.
We do not provide an internal laundry service, but does have an agreement with an external laundry provider.
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What other personal belongings can I bring?
You can bring your mobile phone with you, an MP3 player or similar, and any other personal electronic equipment that you wish. However, we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage.
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I am on medication; do I need to bring this with me?
Your prescription medication will be taken by the nurses and issued through our pharmacy. If you are taking non-prescription medication and/or supplements, we have an approved list of these items which we will dispense as part of the medication round.
If you bring in prescription medication, we would ask that, whenever possible, these medications should be sent home with a family member or friend prior to or as soon as possible after admission. Medications are held on the ward for collection by a family member or friend for a maximum of seven days. After this time, medicines are sent to pharmacy for destruction.
Where the medication is controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act, specific actions need to be followed in relation to the record keeping, storage of the medicine and transfer to pharmacy for destruction.
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Do I need to bring any paperwork with me?
You will need to bring your health insurer membership details (if applicable) with you. If you have any letters or referrals from your general practitioner (GP) or referring consultant, please also bring these with you.
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How long will the assessment and admission take?
The assessment for admission generally takes at least two hours, but there may be some waiting time in the assessment unit, depending on the availability of staff and other admissions. We will endeavour to ensure that your waiting times are kept to a minimum and will keep you informed of any delays.
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Visiting information