Funding plea for National Spinal Injuries Centre

A PLEA for more funding for the National Spinal Injuries Centre that has just six beds to serve the entire country is being backed by the Joint Committee for Health and Children.

Despite official recognition as a national centre, the unit, based in Dublin’s Mater Hospital, has never been allocated specific funding. And while the unit accepts patients with a spinal chord injury from hospitals around the country, regardless of bed availability, those with other spinal injuries, including unstable injuries needing operative fixation have to wait three days.

A Comhairle na n-Ospidéal report in 1990 recommending the establishment of the centre estimated at the time that the unit would have a maximum of 40 admissions per year. The comhairle report also clearly stated that all other spinal fractures where there was no spinal cord injury should be treated in regional hospitals.

Last year there were 290 admissions to the unit and the number of admissions has been rising steadily since it began providing a national service in 1992. It also performed 282 spinal procedures and most were complex.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Mater Frank McManus told the committee that hospitals around the country had become increasingly reliant on the centre as fewer surgeons were willing to perform spinal surgery in general hospitals. And while there were plans in place to increase the total number of spinal beds to 10, that figure ultimately needed to be doubled to 20.

An increase in theatre capacity was also needed as a matter of urgency. Because there was no designated spinal injuries theatre immediate access to theatre could not be guaranteed.