Brian O'Connell

Yeah, I mean, the patient benefits you can probably see are compelling.

Improved rest, you know, reduced stress, for example, because you're at home.

Better diet, perhaps.

But then again, Professor Donald O'Shea, who I spoke to, he's clinical lead.

He wanted to outline the benefits, obviously, but also wanted to stress the fact because our health service is under so much pressure in terms of capacity,

This isn't a replacement service, it's more a support.

So Professor Donal O'Shea, as I said, Clinical Lead for Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Vincennes.

I asked Professor O'Shea if this was an idea that really caught his eye from the start.

And the beauty from a facility like this, from your point of view, is that it frees up beds, I'd imagine.

And these are patients who would otherwise, you go back a year or two ago, have been on site here.

Very much so.

Paul Murphy, who's head of commercial for the company behind this, was telling me they began with two pilot projects here in 2024.

So that was Vincents and in Limerick as well.

There are now five more sites.

It's in all health regions, as I said, so seven sites in total.

Every patient then monitored at home essentially frees up a bed.

So far, over 3,000 patients across all seven sites.

have been seen through a virtual ward.

So you can see from the outside looking in how this will probably play a part for the next 10, 20 years in terms of our provision of health services here.

Man overboard, well, two men actually, as the Healy Rays pull the plug on their support for the coalition.