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Measuring Distance to Services in Ireland Glossary of Terms

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Regional Health Services

HSE General Hospital

General hospitals provide both diagnostic and therapeutic services for a variety of medical conditions. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these hospitals provide medical and nursing care for more than one category of medical discipline. The locations of HSE General Hospitals in Ireland were sourced from the HSE website and were valid as of September 2025. The list excludes the three paediatric hospitals in Dublin (i.e. Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght, Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street), which serves only those aged 15 and under.

HSE Emergency Department

HSE Emergency Departments (EDs) provide 24-hour care for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies, and treat individuals aged 16 and over. ED locations form a subset of General Hospitals and were captured from the HSE website.

HSE Injury Unit

HSE Injury Units treat many conditions commonly presented at EDs, including broken bones, dislocations, and minor burns. Fourteen HSE Injury Units were identified from the HSE website, valid as of March 2026.

HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit

This combined classification includes locations where either an HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit is available.

HSE Maternity Department

Under the Maternity and Infant Scheme, all pregnant women ordinarily resident in Ireland are entitled to maternity care. The locations of the 19 HSE Maternity Departments were sourced from the HSE website, and were valid as of September 2025. Private hospitals also provide Maternity Care in some areas, but details of these services are not listed here.

HSE Emergency Maternity Department

HSE Maternity Emergency Departments are provided by hospitals offering 24-hour emergency care for labour, pregnancy complications, postnatal complications, and acute gynaecological emergencies. Locations were sourced from the HSE website, and were valid as of September 2025.

Local Health Services

HSE Primary Care Centre (PCC)

HSE Primary Care Centres (PCC) provide a single point of access to health services. They offer an alternative to hospitals for the management of many aspects of care for long-term conditions like diabetes, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Primary care centres and other community facilities can also be developed to support access to diagnostics and to provide minor surgery. Data on PCC locations were supplied by the HSE on 06 October 2025.

General Practitioner (GP)

Location in Ireland of General Practitioner (GP) was sourced from the HSE website. Multiple GP’s may be co-located in the same practice. The locations of GP’s included in this report were captured as of 20 September 2025.

Pharmacy

Pharmacy locations include all public-facing pharmacies registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), excluding hospital dispensaries. These locations were provided from PSI as of 18 August 2025.