A clinic to diagnose rapidly patients aged 70 and over suffering from sub acute illnesses, such as pneumonia and osteoporosis, has officially opened in Smithfield, Dublin.
The Rapid Access Clinic, which has been run from St Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park since 2002, is now operating from a larger facility. Up to 4,000 patients a year can be diagnosed at the new clinic, eight times more than the maximum capacity of the previous clinic.
The community-based initiative will provide access to diagnostic facilities such as X-rays, magnetic resonance scans and computed tomography scans, that are usually available only through A&E departments.
"The main aim is to give patients another option to A&E," said Dr Dermot Power, consultant geriatrician at the Mater and St Mary's Hospital, who is overseeing the project.
"In our experience people over the age of 70 don't do well in A&E."
Currently, patients must be referred to the Rapid Access Clinic by a GP based in the north inner city or by the A&E departments in either the Mater or Beaumont hospital.
Gerard Scully of Age Action Ireland said "it's a step in the right direction".
"We would welcome the fact that it's a community-based initiative and a move towards community care is always positive.
However, we have concerns about the fact that it's for over 70s only. It is just as difficult for a 65-year-old or a 69-year-old to sit in A&E for 24 hours."