Mater Infirmorum Hospital

The Mater Infirmorum Hospital, commonly known as The Mater (Irish: Ospidéal an Mater) is an acute hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland and serves a population of over 200,000 people. It provides services to most of North Belfast and South Antrim, reaching as far as Glengormley, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey. It also provides a psychiatric service for West Belfast. The Trust provides a wide range of services including acute In-patient, A&E, Day Procedures, Mental Illness and Maternity. The word Mater is pronounced both "matt-er" and "mae-ter" depending on where patients live in the city. The hospital Mission Statement is "To provide high quality patient care irrespective of creed or class, whilst treating every one as an individual."

History
The Mater has been serving the people of Belfast since it admitted its first patients on 1 November 1883, in premises on the Crumlin Road in Belfast, known as Bedeque House. It was initially founded by the Sisters of Mercy but has always treated patients without regard to class or creed.

Situated in the middle of one of the most deprived areas of Belfast and in the middle of working class Roman Catholic and Protestant populations, the Mater Hospital has often been in the middle of community tensions over the past three decades. It draws patients and staff from both communities and maintains close links with local people.

The main hospital opened in 1900. In 1909 the Mater Hospital was officially recognised as a university teaching hospital and is still associated with and receives students from the Queen's University Medical School.

It required a major refurbishment to bring it up to modern standards. As the first phase of a modernisation programme, a new ward block and day procedures unit was built at the rear of the present block, at a cost of £15 million. This cost was fully met by a generous contribution from the charitable funds of the YP Trustees, who have long association with the Mater.

In 1945 the first Mater Maternity Unit opened, caring for nineteen mothers and their babies, then, in 1952, the first Neuropsychiatry department opened based in an acute Hospital. The Hospital became fully integrated into the National Health Service in 1972.

Today, it is one of the biggest employers in North Belfast with over 1000 staff. now fully integrated into the Health Service of Northern Ireland with its own Trust Board of Management.

Hospital Services
The Mater Hospital has 236 beds and provides a comprehensive range of services:
 * General Medicine, including Haematology, Gastroenterology, Diabetes, and Cardiology;
 * General Surgery, including Vascular Surgery.
 * A regional Hepatobiliary Service which attracts referrals from throughout Northern Ireland.
 * Urology is available on a day case, inpatient and outpatient basis. There are over 300 Urology day cases and 500 inpatients per annum. Outpatient services include a frank haematuria clinic.
 * The hospital holds a Charter Mark for its Psychiatric services including Day Hospital and Psychogeriatrics. It provides inpatient, day attendance and outpatient services to North and West Belfast. There are 55 inpatient psychiatric beds on the Mater hospital site. Day attendances (a nurse led service) take place at Alexandra Gardens Day Hospital. These include: cognitive behavioural therapy, one-to-one counselling, group work, relaxation classes and occupational therapy.
 * The Ophthalmology service has been awarded the Charter Mark twice. There are around 2,000 day cases per year in addition to weekly outpatient clinics.
 * ENT
 * Obstetrics, Neonatology and Gynaecology Services. This specialty has also been awarded a Charter Mark for its services. It includes a 23 bedded maternity unit and a 12 bedded gynaecology unit. In addition to Midwife care, a Breastfeeding Counsellor also aims to promote the rate of mothers who breastfeed and provided a flexible parentcraft programme.
 * Intensive Care Unit
 * An Accident & Emergency Department is open 24 hours per day
 * Day Procedure Unit a new £16 million inpatient and day procedures unit opened in 2001
 * A well equipped Radiology department which now includes a new MRI Unit, recently opened in January 2007

The Trust has also been awarded Charter Marks for Excellence in Maternity Services (awarded twice), Psychiatric Services and Ophthalmology.

During 1999 to 2000 the Mater Hospital cared for:-
 * 44,844 Accident and Emergency Patients
 * 64,300 Outpatient Patients
 * 13084 Inpatients and 3957 Day cases