Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital

The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital (also known as The Eye and Ear) (Irish: Ospidéal Ríoga Victoria Súl agus Cluas) is a public teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin was founded in 1895 and is the National Referral Centre for both Eye and Ear, Nose & Throat disorders. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group.[1]

Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital
Health Service Executive
Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital
Shown in Dublin
Geography
Location	Adelaide Road, Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates	53.332762°N 6.256049°W
Organisation
Care system	HSE
Type	General
Affiliated university	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Trinity College Dublin
Services
Emergency department	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	80
History
Opened	1895
Links
Website	www.rveeh.ie
Lists	Hospitals in the Republic of Ireland

History

The hospital was established by amalgamating the National Eye Hospital (founded in 1814 by Isaac Ryall) and St. Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital for Diseases of the Eye and Ear (founded by Sir William Wilde in 1844) in 1895. The campaign to do this was spearheaded by ophthalmologist Sir Henry Rosborough Swanzy.[2] Along with the authorisation to merge the hospitals, the Dublin Eye and Ear Hospital Act 1895 provided for expansion of the facilities. A site was purchased on Adelaide Road in 1899 and, once new facilities had been constructed, all patients were transferred from the National Eye Hospital and St. Mark's Hospital on 18 February 1904.[3]

Dr. Kathleen Lynn was the first female doctor to work at the hospital when she was appointed in 1910. Lynn went on to establish Saint Ultan's Children's Hospital and became an activist and politician noted for her involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising.[4]

Design and construction

View from Adelaide Road

RVEEH was designed by architects Carroll & Batchelor[5][6] who had previously worked on the Hardwicke Fever Hospital,[7] the Richmond Surgical Hospital,[8] St. Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital,[9] St. Edmundsbury Hospital, Lucan,[10] Whitworth Fever Hospital (Drumcondra Hospital),[11] and the Royal Hospital for Incurables (Royal Hospital Donnybook).[12] The symmetrical building features Queen Anne style architecture.[13] The cost of the original building was £41,862.[6]

The hospital was expanded between 1907 and 1908 and again in 1912, including the addition of an outpatients department, sanitary block, new wing, and expansion of the west wing.[6] A private ward with 9 single rooms was built in 1925. The construction was funded by a donation from Jane Isabella Lewis. The ward was named the Harvey Lewis Wing in memory of her late husband, the politician and lawyer John Harvey Lewis.[14]

In 1915, a bronze relief by Albert Power of ophthalmologist Sir Henry Rosborough Swanzy, father of artist Mary Swanzy, was added to the stair hall.[6][15][16] In 1932, improvements were carried out at a cost of £57,000. In 1937 and 1939, further works were undertaken on the drainage system, entrance drive, gates, railings, and other additions and alterations. The Graham Audiology Clinic opened in 1961.[6]

Management

The hospital is a registered charity governed by a President, Council and Hospital Management Group. Its current CEO is Danny Dunne.[17] It forms part of the Ireland East Hospital Group.[18]

Presidents of RVEEH

Name	From	To
Henry Power Charles Stanley Monck, 5th Viscount Monck	1897	1919
Sir George Roche	1919	1932
Charles Campbell, 2nd Baron Glenavy	1932	1963
P.J. Kiely	1963	1976
Mr. J. McAuliffe-Curtin	1977	1979
H.J. Boylan	1979	1981
J. Donnelly	1981	1987
Dr. T.K. Whitaker	1987	1991
Mr. Justice Frank Griffin	1991	1996
H.J. Byrne	1996	2000
Dr. Jim Ruane	2000	Present

Services

The hospital provides 80 beds, of which 60 are in-patient and the remaining 20 located in the day care unit. 10 beds are reserved for paediatric patients. Two-thirds of beds are designated for ophthalmology patients, with the remaining third for ear, nose and throat patients.[19] Service is provided to over 90,000 patients annually, including more than 7,000 in-patients, 40,000 out-patients, and 40,000 emergency department attendees.[3][20]

Education

RVEEH is the main teaching hospital for trainee ophthalmologists on the Irish College of Ophthalmologists and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland training scheme. It is the only centre which provides postgraduate examinations for the qualification Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (MRCSI (Ophth)). Undergraduate medical students from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin also attend for rotations in ophthalmology and ear, nose, and throat surgery. In June 2011, Taoiseach Enda Kenny opened a €1.3 million Education and Conference Centre.[21]

Research

Several MD and PhD students are attached to the hospital. Trainees can receive funding from the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital Research Foundation. The Eithne Walls Research Fund was established in memory of ophthalmology trainee Dr. Eithne Walls who was lost in the Air France Flight 447 crash.[22]

References

1. "Six hospital groups 'most fundamental reform in decades'". Irish Medical Times. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. "The Late Sir Henry Swanzy". The British Medical Journal. 1 (2730): 917. 1 January 1913. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.2730.917. JSTOR 25301299. S2CID 220003347.
3. Ophthalmic Post Graduate Teaching Programme. "Making lives better through quality healthcare and innovative research - Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital". Rveeh.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
4. "Lynn, Kathleen (1874-1955), 1916: Diary of rebel doctor". www.irishtimes.com. Harriet Wheelock. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
5. "Carroll & Batchelor - Dictionary of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
6. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Adelaide Road, Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital Dictionary of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
7. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Brunswick Street North, Hardwicke Fever Hospital Dictionary Of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
8. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Brunswick Street North, Richmond Surgical Hospital Dictionary Of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. 1927-08-20. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
9. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Lincoln Place, NO. 32, St. Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital Dictionary of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
10. "Co. Dublin, St. Edmundsbury Hospital, Lucan - Dictionary of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
11. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Brunswick Street North, Whitworth Hospital Dictionary of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. 1928-08-18. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
12. "Co. Dublin, Dublin, Bloomfield Avenue (Donnybrook), Royal Hospital For Incurables Dictionary Of Irish Architects". Dia.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
13. "1901 – Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Adelaide Road, Dublin – Archiseek – Irish Architecture". Archiseek.com. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
14. "Wards - Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital". Rveeh.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
15. Casey, Christine (2005). Dublin: The City Within the Grand and Royal Canals and the Circular Road ... - Christine Casey - Google Books. ISBN 0300109237. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
16. Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 491.
17. "Test Homepage – Medical Independent". Medicalindependent.ie. 2019-03-13. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
18. "Hospital Groups". HSE.ie. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
19. "Inspection Report: Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital" (PDF). HIQA. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
20. "The all-seeing Eye (and Ear)". Irish Medical News. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
21. "Test Homepage – Medical Independent". Medicalindependent.ie. 2019-03-13. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
22. "The silent death of the Irish doctors who had so much to live for..." The Independent. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2019.

External links

• Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital website