Waterford Regional Hospital (formerly known as Ardkeen Hospital, also known as WRH) is a public hospital located in Waterford

Waterford

Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

, County Waterford

County Waterford

*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is managed by the Irish Government's Health Service Executive

Health Service Executive

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...

 and provides acute-care hospital services, including a 24-hour emergency department

Emergency department

An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

, for the population of County Waterford and the South East. In 2008, the hospital served 122,837 out-patients, and 23,367 in-patients, with an average stay of 6.3 nights. In 2009, 65,160 patients presented to the emergency department, of which 17,264 were admitted. 70.7% of all admissions were made via the accident and emergency department

Emergency department

An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

. The hospital saw 17,978 day cases in the same year. In 2008, there were 2,598 live births. It is affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...

.

Services

The hospital provides 429 beds, of which 71 are reserved for acute day cases. A further 45 beds are for psychiatric services. In-patient services include general medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, general surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

, accident and emergency, dermatology

Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....

, nephrology

Nephrology

Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...

 and dialysis

Dialysis

In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...

, oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

, obstetrics and gynaecology

Obstetrics and gynaecology

Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...

, cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

, paediatrics, endocrinology

Endocrinology

Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...

, geriatrics

Geriatrics

Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...

, rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology, haematology, psychiatry

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

, respiratory medicine

Respiratory Medicine

The Respiratory Medicine journal is published by Elsevier Science. Its subjects are internal medicine and practice of medicine.Its ISSN is 0954-6111. Its impact factor in 2004 was 2,086....

, anaesthesia, pathology

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

, and radiology

Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

.

The hospital is one of the eight cancer centres of the HSE's National Cancer Control Programme and one of two centres in the HSE South Network. Cancer services include chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments at St. Luke's Hospital, Rathgar; Whitfield Centre, Waterford; and Cork University Hospital

Cork University Hospital

Cork University Hospital , abbreviated as CUH, is the largest university teaching hospital in Ireland and is the only Level 1 trauma centre in the country due to the presence of over 40 different medical and surgical specialties on the campus. It is operated by the Health Service Executive...

.

Waiting times

The national median waiting time for surgery in November 2009 stood at 2.5 months; at Waterford Regional this figure was 2.9 months. Overall waiting time for all procedures was 2.9 months, above the national median of 2.4 months. As of November 2009, the National Treatment Purchase Fund listed the following waiting times for procedures:

Surgical

• adult patients waiting 3–6 months: 199
• adult patients waiting 6–12 months: 127
• adult patients waiting over 12 months: 9
• child patients waiting 3–6 months: 12
• child patients waiting 6–12 months: 15
• child patients waiting over 12 months: 0

Medical

• adult patients waiting 3–6 months: 4
• adult patients waiting 6–12 months: 0
• adult patients waiting over 12 months: 0
• child patients waiting 3–6 months: 1
• child patients waiting 6–12 months: 0
• child patients waiting over 12 months: 0

Hygiene

Independent audits rated hygiene levels as 62% satisfactory in 2005, rising to 86% in 2006. Hospital-acquired infection

Nosocomial infection

A nosocomial infection , also known as a hospital-acquired infection or HAI, is an infection whose development is favoured by a hospital environment, such as one acquired by a patient during a hospital visit or one developing among hospital staff...

 affected 3.0% of patients in 2007, with a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...

(MRSA) infection rate of 0.18 per 1,000 bed days in 2007.

In 2010, WRH was the first hospital in Ireland to achieve "very good performance" status by the HSE.