Medicine for the older person

Our multidisciplinary team cares for the medical, physical, mental and social care needs of older people. 

We offer a wide range of services to older people from Dublin’s north inner city, and we receive referrals from around the country. As well as treating inpatients, we also care for a large number of outpatients in our dedicated day hospitals and outpatient clinics.  

What type of conditions do we treat?

• Memory decline, as seen in dementia and mild cognitive impairment
• Movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease
• Falls and blackouts
• Osteoporosis and bone health conditions
• Stroke
• General acute and chronic medical conditions commonly seen in older people, including heart failure, renal failure and respiratory conditions

What services do we provide?

• Rehabilitation service
• We have dedicated specialist geriatric rehabilitation wards in the Mater Hospital and close links with off-site rehabilitation facilities in St Mary’s Hospital, Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital and Clontarf Hospital
• Post acute care service (PACS) in Fairview
• Orthogeriatric service
• We provide inpatient care for people over 65 admitted with fractures, who are referred by the orthopaedic team and orthogeriatric outpatient clinics
• Long-term care planning and assessments
• Warfarin clinic service in our day hospital 

We have a dedicated team that includes doctors and clinical nurse specialists trained in medicine for the elderly.  The team is supervised by seven geriatric medicine consultant physicians. 

Our service works very closely with other health and social care professionals, including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, dieticians and medical social workers. We also provide extended medical and nursing care to community nursing homes in the area, as well as an outreach service to older, vulnerable patients in the community.

Education and research

The Medicine for the Elderly Department is dedicated to further education and teaching. Medical grand rounds and journal club meetings are held weekly and ongoing research and audit opportunities are available within the department.

Useful links

• Alzheimer Society of Ireland
• Parkinson’s Association of Ireland
• Irish Heart Foundation: Stroke Action