UCD PARTNERSHIP IS BOOST FOR HOSPITAL
THE Ireland East Hospital Group and University College Dublin have announced the expansion of UCD’s clinical research centre into Wexford General Hospital.
The new partnership is expected to provide access to academic medicine for patients in the south east who will now be able to participate in clinic trails for new medicines.
The Clinical Academic Research Directorate Programme is described as an academic-led, multi-site, patient-focused facility for clinical research integrated under a single governance structure within the UCD School of Medicine.
‘Today’s launch is a great success story for Wexford General. It’s the first time that the UCD clinic research centre has been expanded outside of Dublin’, said hospital group CEO Mary Day at the official announcement in Wexford Hospital on Monday morning.
‘Through the partnership between UCD and IEHG, we are committed to ensuring all patients in our hospital group, regardless of geography, are provided with access to cutting edge care’, she said.
Since opening in 2006, the UCD centre has had a significant record in supporting clinical trials from single site to multinational tests and investigator-led to industry sponsored programmes.
Its goal is to improve patient care and outcomes, ensuring that wherever patients are within the IEHG catchment area, they have access to the best and most innovative treatment.
Clinical trials, conducted by the UCD CRC in Wexford, will provide access for patients to promising new therapies that are often an important treatment option, said Ms.Day.
The General Manager of Wexford General Hospital Lily Byrnes said research is critical to ensuring that we not only have the best treatments but also the knowledge to respond to changing trends.
‘Our patients deserve access to the best medicine and we are building on the excellent reputation of Wexford General and expanding its influence through partnership with UCD and the IEHG’.
This is the first time that the UCD CRC has moved outside of Dublin and it is now working with Wexford General Hospital, the Mater Hospital, St. Vincent’s Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital as partners. By supporting the research, Wexford General Hospital is ensuring that special interventions are developed and integrated into routine practical treatment in the fastest possible time, improving outcomes for patients, explained a IEHG spokesman.
Among the speakers at the launch were the Wexford Clinical Director Dr. Obada Yousif, the President of UCD Andrew J Deeks, and the Ireland East Hospital Group Clinical Research Network Director, Peter Doran.