Clifden hospital introduces X-ray link to UCHG

A hospital in west Connemara is the first in the State to introduce a tele-radiological system which sends X-rays from remote areas to major urban hospitals by high-speed transfer over telephone lines.

The £250,000 system effectively makes the new X-ray department at Clifden District Hospital part of the X-ray department at University College Hospital Galway. It is likely that other health boards will introduce tele-radiology. It takes four to 10 minutes for the images to come down the line to UCHG. There they are stored on the archive system and displayed on two special computer screens in the office of consultant radiologist Dr David O'Keeffe.

"Before this, the cycle was that a patient would see his GP and the GP would request an Xray. The request would be posted to UCHG and an appointment sent out. The patient would then have to come into the hospital which can take about two hours from Clifden and west Connemara," he said. Now a patient is sent by his GP to Clifden District Hospital. The X-ray is taken and sent to UCHG. The consultant's report is back with the GP that day or the following day.

As the whole area of radiology becomes more high-tech, UCHG's X-ray department is becoming a "filmless" department. The only such department at present is at Tallaght Hospital.

The project was the brainchild of Dr John Casey of Clifden who raised £100,000 for an X-ray room for Clifden District Hospital. This was matched by the Government. Dr Casey said the new system had made a huge difference. The feedback from the community had been terrific, he said.