New migraine clinic opened

A new headache and migraine clinic was launched yesterday at the Dublin Neurological Institute at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.

The clinic is the third of its kind in Ireland and it is hoped that it will aid in reducing waiting lists for the country’s other clinics in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and Cork University Hospital.

Junior Health Minister John Moloney launched the clinic after the Health Minister was called to an emergency meeting in Luxembourg.

“I recognise that migraine may not be life threatening, but it can ruin your quality of life. The launch of this new clinic will complement the two existing clinics,” the Junior Minister said.

The Mater’s clinic will be a joint collaboration between the Dublin Neurological Institute and the Migraine Association of Ireland (MAI). The clinic, a ‘centre of excellence’, will be funded solely through fundraising.

“The Migraine Association of Ireland is delighted to support this new development. As current estimates indicate that there are over 500,000 sufferers in Ireland – costing the Irish economy €252 million annually – there is a real need to increase services,” said Patrick Little, CEO of the MAI.

There is just one neurologist per 200,000 people in Ireland, the lowest ratio in the western world, in spite of the fact that one in five acute hospital admissions in Ireland present with neurological conditions. Hoping to significantly improve the lifestyle of so many migraine sufferers, the new clinic will be open free of charge to both public and private patients.

Although the clinic was launched today, patients will not be seen until later in the year. For further information, patients can visit the website of the Dublin Neurological Institute at www.neurologicalinstitute.ie.

For further information about migraine, and to avail of our new service migraine monitoring service, see www.migrainemonitor.ie.

[Posted: Fri 01/05/2009]