Ath Trasna Medical Team moves to new home
IT is an honour and a privilege to lead the superb Ath Trasna Medical team, as we transition to our new home at the Duhallow Primary Care Complex, in Newmarket.
We are excited at the opportunities this beautiful building now presents, to enhance the environment in which our team delivers health care, while developing collaborations and synergies with the broader Primary Care team.
Our journey began back in 1989, when Zelie and I, with Joan Mullane, as our first secretary, established practice in Scarteen Street. We have enjoyed 29 years on High Street, with wonderful neighbours. Joan Mullane has continued with us over the years, with the addition of Joan McDonnell, Margaret Walsh, Marion Heffernan, Maria O Flynn and Mary O Donovan in administration. Marie O Keeffe joined us as Practice Nurse in 1993 and has since been joined by Maura Kiely and Mairead Daly. Ina O Callaghan provides our housekeeping support.
We are delighted to have been joined, in the recent past, by Dr Vanessa Collins, Dr Bronagh Shorten and Dr Padraig O Sullivan. This expansion enables us to provide a comprehensive range of services in general practice, as well as developing areas of sub – specialisation in Musculoskeletal medicine, Minor Surgery, and Women’s Health. Our aim is to develop the area of preventative medicine and to promote life long health in Primary Care, through health and wellbeing services.
Our team share similar value systems and ethos of care, and enjoy working together, and with those we are privileged to care for. Our members are empowered to innovate and to enjoy driving health improvements, delivering evidence-based care, and working in a continuous learning environment.
Our involvement with undergraduate medical training with UCC, and with GP postgraduate training with the South West GP Training Programme, challenge us to maintain and develop standards of care.
The whole thrust of the Slaintecare initiative is the provision of integrated care. This will require collaboration between various GP practices, HSE, pharmacies, social support services, using the Primary Care building as the central hub. This will enable the health service of this area to build a resilient one-team approach, adding competencies to the multidisciplinary teams, as needs arise.
This area of Duhallow has enjoyed an excellent system of out -of -hours service through the Southdoc cell in Kanturk and the co-operation of all GPs of this area. Patients are greatly disenfranchised by the temporary transfer of this service to Mallow. I look forward to the restoration of this service by the Board of Southdoc, when the current COVID crisis has abated.
It has been a pleasure to work with all those involved in bringing this project to fruition. In particular, I must pay tribute to Councillor Gerard Murphy who never lost faith in this project, and to Damien O Neill and his development team. The next phase of ensuring that the Primary care concept reaches its full potential now begins. We look forward to this phase, with energy and enthusiasm.
Dr Bertie Daly