You are very welcome to the 25th edition of the Rotunda GP-Connect E-zine. In this issue Dr. Richard Duffy who is our consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist gives a detail review of the Perinatal Mental Health Services here in the Rotunda. He includes the criteria, the pathway and the referral content and we are very happy that we are able to offer care to woman from booking until a year after they have had their baby. There are a range of issues that can result in women requiring Perinatal Mental Health Services. There is a comprehensive list of services that are commonly used by the Perinatal Mental Health Team and these are given at the end of Dr. Duffy’s review.
On a related topic Ms. Nicole Maiorano who works with the Trinity Centre for Global Health has an informative piece on trauma informed care. The Rotunda Hospital has provided money to get a research programme started in the hospital in conjunction with the Trinity College Centre for Global Health. This research will include the analysis of various data sources such as hospital policies, organization wide surveys with service users and interviews with focus groups. We hope that this will benefit the Rotunda Hospital in terms of moving forward with trauma informed care for all our couples.
General Practitioners within our catchment area are already aware of the planned Centralization of Benign Gynaecology Referrals across North Dublin. We have partnered with Connolly and Beaumont Hospital and will initiate a centralized referrals office in September. The idea centralizing referrals is to try and ensure that the patient pathway is streamlined and that right woman sees the right doctor the first time. There are lots of detail in the article and we believe that this new system will result in a more timely service for women across North Dublin.
Our Senior Clinical Psychologist in Perinatal Health, Ms. Jillian Doyle has a very informative article about the impact of modern technology and the consequences of an online world to young children and parents. She makes the point that not all screen time is equal and that high quality interactive content can support learning whilst on the other hand a prolonged exposure to various screening platforms is possibly harmful. There is a specific role and that limiting screen time particularly to children is very important.
Dr. Aine Dempsey who is working between Connolly Hospital and the Rotunda Hospital is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a particular interest in complications of early pregnancy. Aine has done a lot of work on this and has a very informative article about bleeding in early pregnancy the risk of an ectopic pregnancy. The clinical features of ectopic pregnancy and then the very common problem of nausea and vomiting particularly in early pregnancy when it can affect up to 80% of women. The second part of her article focuses on Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD) which obviously is a rare pregnancy related condition in which the developing placenta functions like a cancer which can spread outside of the uterus. There is now a national GTD registry which is under the leadership of Professor John Coulter in Cork University Maternity Hospital and Aine outlines the recommendation for pregnancy interval after GTD and the issues around future fertility.
Ms. Carol Rock who is the Clinical Midwifery Specialist in Bereavement has written about the most common complication of pregnancy, that of early pregnancy loss. She details how the Rotunda try and manage early pregnancy loss and support couples through this. I believe a patient centered care approach to managing these complications is critical and the Rotunda Hospital has always prioritized such an approach. As part of that Ann Charlton who is our Chaplin has a detailed article about the chaplaincy services available in the Rotunda and the specific role of bereavement care for parents who have tragically lost a baby.
There are two other things to note, the consultant led semi private care which is available in the hospital for all couples as well as early pregnancy ultrasound, antenatal classes and breast feeding workshops.
Finally just to let you know that on Saturday 17th January next year we will be holding a symposium on fertility and endometriosis; a guide diagnosis and management. Both these areas are extremely important in terms managing women and I do believe that this symposium will prove very popular. If you want to email Ms. Eleanor Power on [email protected] you can reserve your place. With best wishes.
Professor Sean Daly,
Master/CEO, Rotunda Hospital.
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