The Dublin Dental Hospital, opened by the Taoiseach three years ago, is too small, the hospital board has been told. The £13 million project in Lincoln Place was praised for bringing a modern ambience and facilities to an institution founded in the 19th century.
But the hospital was planned in 1994 and the subsequent increases in staff numbers were not envisaged, the chief executive, Mr Brian Murray, told the board in a briefing document.
The solution, Mr Murray's document suggests, is to purchase an adjacent building from Trinity College Dublin. The cost of purchase and refurbishment could be £5 million. The June board meeting also heard that a formal procedure has been implemented following complaints by a number of staff of bullying and harassment.
Staff at St Stephen's Psychiatric Hospital in Cork are baffled by its new ECT (shock treatment) machine, according to hospital minutes. The April records show that "the new ECT machine has not yet been used due to its complexity".
When consultant psychiatrist Dr David Walshe asked for a demonstration, a technician was "unable to fully demonstrate the machine to him".
The management board heard a suggestion that "we should change the machine to a similar one at the Mercy Hospital at a cost of £3,000". At the May meeting, the price had fallen to £2,000 and "it was agreed that this should now be done".
Plans for two rehabilitation wards for older people have been submitted to the Eastern Regional Health Authority by the Incorporated Orthopaedic Hospital of Ireland in Clontarf.
The £10 million plan would add 64 beds to the hospital's existing 97. It was founded in 1876 for the care of children with congenital abnormalities. In more recent times it has become a rehabilitation hospital for orthopaedic patients.
Recently, it was given until the end of the year to replace its ageing X-ray equipment follo wing an inspection by the Radiation Protection Institute.
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