St. James's Hospital

St. James's Hospital (Irish: "Ospidéal San Séamas") is the largest university teaching hospital in Dublin. Its academic partner is the University of Dublin. The Teaching Centre was opened in 1994 and it incorporates the clinical departments of the Medical School, Unit for Dietetics and Nutrition, the Nursing School, Postgraduate Centre and the library of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

History

Dublin Corporation paid £300 in 1603 for a foundation stone for a poorhouse on the site now occupied by the hospital.

The war between William III and James II intervened and work was abandoned until 1703, when Mary, Duchess of Ormonde, wife of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde laid the stone.

Several distinguished citizens served on the board of the hospital when it opened in 1727, including Arthur Guinness and Dean Swift. The hospital was closed in the early years of the 19th century and the buildings were used as a workhouse and known as the South Dublin Union. The workhouse infirmary, which originally catered for sick inmates only began to take on an increasingly active role as an infirmary for the sick poor. Some extremely competent physicians worked here at that period including Robert Mayne, a radiological expert.

In 1916, the South Dublin Union was occupied by rebel forces and during the fighting a member of the nursing staff was accidentally killed. The hospital continued to develop as a municipal hospital following Irish independence and the name was changed to St Kevin's Hospital.

Later in the 20th century plans were made to amalgamate some of the voluntary hospitals in Dublin to build a new St. Kevin's which became known as St. James's in 1971.

Several small Dublin hospitals were closed in the 1980s including Mercer's, Sir Patrick Dun's, Dr Stevens and the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, Baggot Street. Most of the services provided by these hospitals were incorporated into the new St. James's.

Key activities

* Centre for Advanced Clinical Therapeutics
* Dementia
* Irish Cancer Data Association
* National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics
* National Medicine Information Centre
* Wegener's Granulomatosis Handbook

Trinity College Centre for health science

The first phase of the Trinity College Centre for Health Sciences at St James' Hospital was opened in 1994 to provide teaching and library space, a staff/student common room and accommodation for academic clinical departments. It also houses the hospital school of nursing and the William Stokes Postgraduate Centre for continuing medical education. A second phase was opened in 1998 housing the School of Physiotherapy, the School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, the Haughton Institute for Postgraduate Education in the Health Sciences, the Department of Medical Gerontology and Faculty Administration. Development of the site is continuing.

The Trinity Centre for Health Sciences contains:

* Department of Clinical Medicine
* Department of Medical Gerontology
* Department of Surgery
* Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics
* Department of General Practice
* Department of Psychiatry
* Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
* John Stearne Medical Library
* The St James's Hospital School of Nursing
* The William Stokes Postgraduate Centre for continuing medical education
* The School of Occupational Therapy
* The School of Physiotherapy
* School of Therapeutic Radiography
* The Trinity College School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies
* The Haughton Institute for Postgraduate Education in the Health Sciences
* The Central Pathology Laboratory contains:
* Department of Clinical Microbiology
* Department of Histopathology and Morbid Anatomy
* Department of Haematology
* Department of Clinical Biochemistry

New clinical research centre

Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre coordinated a suvvessful bid to the Wellcome Trust for a major clinical research centre to be led by Professor Dermot P. Kelleher comprising two elements:
* A new centre will be built at St James' Hospital.
* A network of new clinical research facilities linking the proposed new centre to existing centres at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin [ [http://www.beaumont.ie/ Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland - Home Page ] ] , St. Vincent’s University Hospital Dublin and Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

References

External links

* [http://www.stjames.ie/ Official website]
* [http://www.tcd.ie/ Trinity College, Dublin]

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