Central Remedial Clinic

The Central Remedial Clinic (Irish: An Lárchlinic Feabhais) is a non-residential national centre for the care, treatment and development of children and adults with physical disabilities in Ireland. The Clinic treats over 5,000 clients annually on a free-of-charge basis. Services are provided for people with physical conditions ranging from the very rare to the more familiar, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and arthrogryposis.

History

The clinic was founded by Lady Valerie Goulding and Kathleen O'Rourke in 1951 as a small non-residential treatment centre in a house on Upper Pembroke Street in Dublin's city centre.^[1] It quickly developed paramedical and educational services for people with disabilities. It later became known as the Central Remedial Clinic and began operations as a legal company in October 1953. In 1968 it moved into a purpose-built facility in Clontarf. In the 1970s, Lady Goulding hired Charles Haughey to head up its fund-raising arm. Accountant to Haughey, Des Peelo, was chairman for a period. While Lady Goulding ensured continuing finance from State and philanthropic sources, its medical development was under the direction of Dr Ciaran Barry, who also worked at the Mater Hospital.^[2] In 2001, the CRC opened a centre in Waterford, providing a regional assessment service for children in the south-east of Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer of the Clinic is Stephanie Manahan who was appointed in July 2014.

Services

Services at the Clinic include clinical assessment, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, social work, psychology, nursing, dietetics, orthotics, technical services, seating services, orthopaedics, paediatrics, parent support, vision and hearing specialists, transport and catering.

Day Activity Centres

The Clinic has four Dublin-based Day Activity Centres located in Clontarf, Coolock, Firhouse and Hartstown. These centres provide social, physical, educational and recreational activities for adults whose disabilities prevent them from participating in other training or work programmes.

Vocational training

Vocational training, commonly referred to as VT, is provided in Clontarf and aims to equip young adults with disabilities to take responsibility for and have control over their own lives, and to set and achieve their own goals. This includes independence and the ability to pursue further training, further education or possibly employment. Training is certified by FETAC and accredited by the National Accreditation Committee (NAC).

Schools in Dublin

The CRC also operates two schools in Dublin: the CRC school in Clontarf and Scoil Mochua in Clondalkin. Both schools cater for children with physical disabilities from the ages of 3 – 18 years who need a high level of support to reach their potential educationally. They also meet the needs of those children who will transfer to mainstream schools.

Training

The CRC also provides training and education for adults through the workshop, vocational training, and the Diploma in Assistive Technology.

Gait analysis lab

In 1990, the CRC established a state-of-the-art clinical gait analysis laboratory, one of a few in Europe and the only one in Ireland.

Scoil Mochua

In 1995, Scoil Mochua came under the patronage of the Central Remedial Clinic. Located in Clondalkin, it is a school for children and young people with physical disabilities who live in West Dublin, Kildare and West Wicklow. The Clinic is a registered charity in the Republic of Ireland, (Reg. No: 4998), with a Board of Governors and a Management Committee.

References

External links

• CRC website