Medical Assessment Unit(MAU)/Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic (RACPC)
Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) /Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic (RACPC)
The aim of the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic (RACPC) in the Bon Secours Hospital Tralee is to promote prompt and timely access for patients to expert consultant opinion, assessment and, if needs be, admission to consultant specialist care.
We see GP referred patients (aged 16 years +) with a wide range of acute medical conditions, some of whom may require urgent medical care.
Exclusion criteria for the MAU and RACPC:
- Patients aged < 16 years.
- Self referred patients.
- Patients who require resuscitation/ventilation support.
- Patients who are physiologically unstable.
- Acute stroke or MI patients.
- Surgical patients.
- Trauma patients.
- Pregnant women.
- Patients who present acute mental illness/psychiatric issues.
What happens when I attend the MAU?
You will be registered by one of our clerical staff on arrival to the MAU.
You will then be shown to a trolley/ bed space where a member of our Nursing team will begin your assessment. During this assessment, your Nurse will check your observations which include your blood pressure, pulse and temperature.
Your heart rate will be checked using a simple test; Electrocardiograph (ECG) and you may have a routine blood test.
Following your initial assessment by a member of our Nursing team, you will then be reviewed by the Consultant.
Your Consultant will discuss with you which diagnostic tests they recommend you should have based on your consultation. Our MAU team will book you in for these tests if you decide to go ahead with them. You will have these tests on the same day (where they can be facilitated).
How much does it cost to attend the MAU/RACPC?
We advise you to check your insurance coverage with your health insurance provider before attending the MAU/RACPC.
An initial consultation fee of €70 is payable whether you’re admitted or discharged from the Unit.
Fees vary depending on which diagnostic tests the Consultant recommends; however, our service fee is capped at €299 (excluding CT scans or MRI diagnostic imaging). The costs of some of your tests can be claimed back from your insurance company after you’re discharged.
If you’re admitted to the Hospital you’re liable to pay the €70 consultation fee, however, your health insurance should cover your inpatient stay. Depending on your plan with your insurance company you may be liable to pay inpatient excess.
What if I don’t have health insurance?
If you do not have health insurance,the maximum you will pay on the day is €485 (which includes the consultation fee of €70 but excludes CT scans or MRI diagnostic imaging).
Department opening hours:
Monday-Friday, 08:30am- 19:30pm.
GP referrals accepted.
Dr Kamal Abdalla
Consultant General Physician
Biography
Dr Kamal Abdalla currently practices as a Consultant General Physician while he awaits his Specialist Registration as a Consultant Cardiologist. He is the Clinical Lead within both our Medical Assessment Unit and our recently established Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic. Having graduated from the University of Khartoum in 1999, Dr Abdalla completed his SHO training in Mullingar Hospital and within the Bon Secours Hospital Group. Prior to obtaining membership of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland in 2006, Dr Kamal completed in MSc in Cardiology at Trinity College in Dublin in 2012. From 2013-2017, Dr Abdalla completed his Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at Castlehill Hospital in Hull which is the largest tertiary cardiac hospital in the East Yorkshire region. He returned to us here in January 2017 to take up his post as a Consultant Physician with the Medical Assessment Unit and Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic at Bon Secours Hospital, Tralee.
Areas of interest;
Dr Abdalla's specialist areas of interest include CTO, Implantable Cardiac Devices and Complex Cases within Angiography.
