ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus
Out-patient Clinics
3 Diabetes Clinics per week
1 Endocrinology Clinic
Weekly multi-disciplinary group education sessions for newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes.
Monthly Patient Group Education Session on cholesterol management and diet.
Quarterly Group Education Sessions for patients with newly diagnosed impaired glucose tolerance.
Endocrine Clinical Services
The Endocrine Team provides a comprehensive outpatient and in-patient consultation service. By its nature,
the combined Endocrinology/Diabetes Service is predominantly outpatient orientated with the essential goal
of avoiding hospital admission and this is particularly the case in avoiding the long-term complications of
diabetes mellitus.
In the field of thyroid cancer, the development of a quarterly Multi-Disciplinary Team Meeting, (Medical
Endocrinology, Surgical Endocrinology, Histopathology, Radiotherapy and Radiology) ensures the provision of
a co-ordinated service working to approved international guidelines. At this conference patients who have
been reviewed by any of the groups are presented and their management discussed and presentations and
key aspects of the management of thyroid cancer are reviewed. A similar multi-disciplinary team approach to
the management of gut endocrine tumours was established in September 2007. This meeting occurs quarterly.
The Endocrine Team provides a national consultation service in the areas of reproductive endocrinology,
adrenal disease, obesity, hypoglycaemia, gut endocrine tumours, gender identity disorder, calcium metabolism
and metabolic bone disease.
Endocrine Laboratory
Overall workload in the Endocrine Laboratory remained relatively static during 2007. However, this overview
masked a significant increases in the number of manual tests requested and a fall in the automated
workload, particularly from the Coombe Hospital as they expanded in-house endocrine testing.
The laboratory was again inspected during the course of a two day surveillance visit from Clinical Laboratory
Accreditation UK Ltd. in 2007. The inspector’s report was very positive and the laboratory maintained its
accreditation status.
Dr. Tom Smith is the Association of Clinical Biochemist’s representative on the Irish EQA Steering Committee.
James Connolly has been promoted to acting Senior Medical Scientist in place of Anne Dickinson who is
currently on maternity leave.
Martina Cassidy resigned her post in 2007 to take up a Medical Scientist position in Temple St. Children’s
Hospital. She was replaced by Nicola Faherty.
Gordon Dixon took up a position as trainee Medical Laboratory Scientist in June 2007.
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