The Mater Hospital in Dublin has opened 24 additional beds for trauma, along with nine acute trauma rehabilitation beds, said the audit.
These beds have facilitated the hospital to accept patients with major trauma as secondary transfers from hospitals across the Central Trauma Network. A dedicated trauma resuscitation room in the emergency department will support the acute management of patients with major trauma injuries. Construction is under way to provide two dedicated trauma theatres and a diagnostic suite, which will further enhance the capability of the Mater to accept patients with major trauma injuries. It is expected that these two new theatres will be completed in 2026.”
The construction of a trauma resuscitation room at CUH is under way and will be completed in 2026. The room will provide a state-of-the-art facility to accept patients following major trauma injuries. A new helipad has opened and is operational on site, allowing direct transfer of patients by air to the hospital.
The first phase of development of University Hospital Galway as a Trauma Unit with Specialist Services (TUSS) took place in 2025, with resources being provided for the Specialist Spine and Specialist Plastic Surgery Services.
There will also be a dedicated theatre provided at Merlin Park University Hospital for the development of a planned trauma care service, providing a facility to manage ambulatory trauma cases.
The National Office for Trauma Services (NOTS) is also supporting Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda and University Hospital Waterford in 2025 to enhance their trauma services by providing additional expert trauma staff. This will be the first phase of the development of trauma units in these hospitals.
The referral of patients to MTCs from other hospitals is now facilitated by the trauma desk at the National Emergency Operations Centre operated by the National Ambulance Service (NAS), providing a dedicated number for all referrals. The HSE is developing an electronic referral system is in development that will be a standardised electronic system to refer patients and provide all the necessary clinical information to the MTCs.
