The Evolution of Biomedical Engineering at University Hospital, Kerry

University Hospital Kerry has had many transitions over the last number of years since it opened in 1984, and is now a Level 3 Acute teaching Hospital, providing comprehensive medical and surgical services for adults and children and maternity services to women in the surrounding catchment area.  The hospital has 273 inpatient beds and 24 day beds, and a busy 24/7 Emergency Department.

In 1995 Dr. Ger Flynn provided a limited outreach service from the Biomedical Engineering Department in CUH, and appointed Pat O’Donoghue as the first engineer based in UHK in 2004. With the help of Bernard Murphy in 2022, UHK Biomedical Engineering established its own identity, and formED a separate department from the CUH Biomedical Engineering, which has helped expand the department and improve services in UHK.

As of 2023 there are four engineers; Jacinta O’Brien (Head of Department), Pat O’Donoghue, Sneha Joy and Seán O’Shea in UHK.  The department has a wide range of responsibilities in relation to the management and maintenance of medical devices in UHK.  It is also establishing strong connections with clinical staff to improve patient safety and patient care pathways within UHK and develop new services within the hospital.

Going forward we hope to continue to grow and expand our services to include a medical equipment library to centralise critical devices and work with management to develop a major incident plan that will ensure efficient use and access to the required medical devices.