A new €4.2 million academic teaching centre was officially opened today at Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) by the Mayor of Waterford City, Cllr Jack Walsh.

The facility is being jointly funded by the Health Services Executive (HSE) and RCSI and is designed to enhance the teaching of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical personnel in the south east.

In addition, the Education Facility will be a learning resource for all health and allied health professionals within the HSE’s acute hospitals network covering counties Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary and Waterford – which is in line with key objectives set in the HSE’s Capital Plan.

The HSE/RCSI Education Facility includes a 19-seat lecture theatre, a large teaching/seminar room, tutorial and reading rooms for interactive teaching and other administrative and ancillary services.

The opening of the centre facilities coincides with the tenth anniversary of an agreement signed between WRH and RCSI, making it one of the College’s major teaching hospitals. The Education Facility will provide undergraduate students from RCSI with state of the art facilities while attending their clinical rotations in Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. As an academic centre, it will also help facilitate the provision of training and development opportunities for members of multidisciplinary teams and professional staff at WRH and from other locations throughout the south east.

Mayor of Waterford Cllr Jack Walsh said: “I am delighted to officially open this new education facility today. This new facility is a very welcome development particularly for the local community in Waterford and the south east region.” 

Richard Dooley, South East Hospital Network Manager with the HSE, said: “Medical education is a process of lifelong learning that put’s patients first, delivers the outcomes of the HSE’s Transformation Programme and enables professionals to expand and fulfil their potential. The HSE is pleased to be financing this project in a partnership arrangement with the RCSI. This facility reflects what the public expect, and rightly so, that they receive care from practitioners who are up-to-date in their knowledge, thinking and skills.” 

President of RCSI Professor Frank Keane said: “The new academic centre marks RCSI’s commitment to improving the delivery of healthcare and medical education and training throughout Ireland. This development will ultimately benefit patients and the local community in Waterford and the south-east the region. It also strengthens RCSI’s links with both the HSE and WRH, which is one of our major teaching hospitals.” 

Ms Patricia Sullivan, General Manager of Waterford Regional Hospital, said: “Having such a feature on the hospital campus has the potential to attract and retain highly trained medical personnel for WRH and the HSE’s acute hospital network in the south east.”

The plaque unveiled by Mayor of Waterford Cllr Jack Walsh and RCSI President Professor Frank Keane during the official opening of the RCSI and HSE Education Facility at Waterford Regional Hospital.  

Dr Fred Jackson Consultant Haematologist and RCSI Dean of Undergraduate Studies at WRH, said: “This new facility is testament to WRH staff and management’s commitment to enhancing the standard of medical health and training facilities in the region. The Centre will also assist in attracting and retaining highly trained Medical Consultants and personnel.”

Following the opening, Prof. Kieran R. Byrne (Director, Waterford Institute of Technology) delivered the 19th Leonard Abrahamson Lecture at the RCSI’s first academic meeting in the HSE RCSI Education Facility.