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IHCA blames Tallaght X-ray crisis on manpower shortage

Tallaght Hospital has seven consultant radiologists, and it should have 18, the IHCA has stated in a response to the story about tens of thousands of X-rays at Tallaght not being reviewed by consultant radiologists. The IHCA has also stated... Read more

Read the IHCA's Submission to the Public Accounts Committee On Public & Private Medical Practice

In its Submission to the Public Accounts Committee On Public & Private Medical Practice, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association states: 1. The information currently provided by the HSE does not accurately reflect the clinical activity of Hospital Consultants as significant... Read more

Bed capacity crisis results in organs being shipped to UK - Beaumont docs

Beaumont doctors say the "travesty" of sending three organs to the UK was a result of bed shortages. Beaumont Hospital says the problem is not bed capacity per se, but a temporary reconfiguration of beds at the transplant unit as... Read more

Youth mental health organisation holds community cycling event

The Jigsaw Galway Community Cycle will take place on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Jigsaw Galway is a partnership between Headstrong (The National Centre for Youth Mental Health), the HSE and Mental Health Ireland. You can contact Jigsaw Galway on... Read more

IAEM recommends other HSE hospitals with overcrowded EDs institute the Limerick solution

The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) advocates strongly that once standard measures to reduce Emergency Department overcrowding fail HSE managers should institute the Full Capacity Protocol as was done with 'such success' in Limerick this week. Download the press... Read more

Swine flu update: Pharmacists urged to get swine flu vaccine

Pharmacists around Ireland should get the swine flu vaccine as soon as possible, the head of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) said yesterday (December 1). Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, Registrar and CEO of the PSI, urged pharmacists and their staff... Read more

Swine flu update: Total infections down from last week

Approximately 17,000 people were infected with swine flu last week, down from about 27,000 a week earlier, the HSE has confirmed. About 4 per cent of the Irish population has now been infected with the H1N1 virus, said Dr Darina... Read more

Swine flu update: Children from 6 months to 5 years invited

The HSE has said that HSE pandemic vaccination clinics have now commenced inviting children from six months to under five years of age, and people aged 65 years and over, to be vaccinated against swine flu. Vaccination of the initial... Read more

HSE publishes intercultural guide

The HSE has launched the Health Services Intercultural Guide, which was developed under the HSE National Intercultural Health Strategy 2007 – 2012 in response to the needs of diverse religious communities and cultures in healthcare settings. From the press release:... Read more

HSE publishes review of EDs and emergency care in Cork and Kerry

A review of emergency departments and pre-hospital emergency care in Cork and Kerry has been published by the HSE South today. The review contains recommendations on how to operate emergency departments and pre-hospital emergency care at all acute hospitals in... Read more

Swine flu update: Clarification by HSE on vaccine dosage

Two doses of Pandemrix should be given to children aged six months to 12 years, and two doses should also be given to all those 13 and over who are immunocompromised, the HSE has stated. Following confusion among GPs, the... Read more

Renowned neuroscientist takes up physiology post at UL med school

A leading neuroscientist has been appointed Professor of Physiology at the new Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) at the University of Limerick. Professor Billy O’Connor, in a lecture that coincided with his appointment, explained what makes the brain work... Read more

Swine flu update: Majority of H1N1 deaths are not in youngest age groups

Most of those who have died from swine flu so far in Ireland were aged over-45, despite the widely reported view that the disease would worst affect younger people. Nobody aged 0-four or 25-34 has died. Four deaths were among... Read more

Swine flu update: Study shows benefit of combining swine and seasonal flu vaccines

Co-administering doses of both the swine flu and the annual seasonal flu vaccines in separate arms induces a strong response in adults for both the H1N1 pandemic vaccine as well as the seasonal vaccine, according to new research. Results were... Read more

Swine flu update: Hospitals institute visiting restrictions

A number of hospitals have put in place measures to restrict visiting patterns because of the swine flu pandemic. “On a national level, we recommend that people – particularly children under 14 – should avoid unnecessary hospital visits,” Dr Tony... Read more

Swine flu update: 23 reports of adverse reactions to swine flu vaccines

The Irish Medicine Board (IMB) has received 23 reports of suspected adverse reactions to the Pandemic H1N1 vaccines Pandemrix and Celvapan. As of 12 noon on Thursday November 5, seven suspected adverse reactions occurred in children and four in pregnant... Read more

Swine flu update: Maternity hospitals to restrict visiting times

Maternity Hospitals in Dublin will restrict visiting from Friday to minimise the spread of influenza A H1N1. The measures will come into force from 8am at the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, the Rotunda Hospital and the National Maternity... Read more

Swine flu vaccine updates will be available on a daily basis on Viscera

Irish Medical Times is inviting GPs to become part of an online conversation about the H1N1 vaccine roll-out. Follow and report all developments and news here on Viscera. The Irish Medical Times will run a daily news update on the... Read more

IHCA Pre-Budget submission: the press release

The IHCA has mailed around the press release for its pre-Budget submission. You can read it in its entirety below: In its detailed submission for the 2010 Budget, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has said that funding for the health... Read more

A lecture about the quest for a cure for arthritis

The Annual Lecture of Arthritis Ireland and the Ankylosing Spondilitis Association of Ireland takes place Thursday, October 29. It's called: Within Our Reach: A Lecture on Advances Towards Finding a Cure for Arthritis. The lecture takes place at the Citywest... Read more

Is chronic fatigue syndrome caused by a virus?

A study in Science suggests there may be a link between chronic fatigue syndrome and a recently discovered virus, the New York Times reports. The new suspect is a xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV, which probably descended from... Read more

42 patients on trolleys in Beaumont on Tuesday

There were 42 patients on trolleys at Beaumont hospital in Dublin yesterday (Tuesday), according to the Irish Nurses Organisation’s Trolleywatch. Beaumont believes this figure includes 10 patients who have been discharged from the ED to an adjacent area called the... Read more

The programme for the 21st IHCA AGM and Conference 2009

Here's the programme for the 21st Annual Conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (Saturday, October 3; Radisson Blu Farnham Estate, Cavan.) 3rd October 2009 10.30am – 11.25am - Statutory Items – Redwood Suite • National Council Report • Treasurers... Read more

FTP inquiry to take place in Cork next week

The Medical Council is to hold a hearing of its Fitness to Practise (FTP) Committee next week in Cork. The inquiry — to be held partly in public over two days — will take place from 9 a.m. on Monday... Read more

Irish jockeys have high incidence of low bone density

A high incidence of low bone density among young Irish jockeys demonstrates the need for up-to-date scientific information about nutrition and training. Dr Giles Warrington, head sports physiologist and sports science advisor to the Olympic Council of Ireland, said:... Read more

Minister Harney urges families to discuss the issue of organ donation

People should carry organ donation cards, and families need to discuss the issue of organ donation among themselves, the Minister for Health said following the publication of the HSE’s “Audit of Potential Organ Donors.” The audit summarised the availability of... Read more

Helix to equip new lab at Trinity

Helix Health, a healthcare tech company, has committed €1.8 million for a new laboratory at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Trinity College Dublin - which will facilitate some 280 students. Computer equipment and pharmacy software will be... Read more

Medical and legal experts gather for first joint Ireland/UK conference on Cerebral Palsy

On September 17th and 18th 2009, the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital (CWIUH), in association with Baby Lifeline Training UK, will host a conjoint conference in Dublin City University on Cerebral Palsy. From the press release: This unique multidisciplinary... Read more

IHCA conference and venue officially announced

IRISH HOSPITAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION 21st ANNUAL CONFERENCE The 21st Annual Conference of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association will take place on Saturday 3rd October at 10.30 am. The venue for this year’s event is the Radisson Blu Farnham Estate, Cavan.... Read more

FG Spokesperson on Children accuses Cowen of inaction on sunbeds in 1999

Legislation banning the use of sunbeds for people under 18 is long overdue, and Taoiseach Brian Cowen could have done something about it as Minister for Health, according to Alan Shatter TD, FG Spokesperson on Children. From Shatter's FG press... Read more

More on swine flu: Do you know what ‘herd immunity’ is?

Effective immunisation for a pandemic occurs when enough people get the jab and create a “herd immunity” in a community. New research from the Emerging Health Threats Journal argues that alternative health practitioners are key in creating herd immunity... Read more

Beacon Hospital to participate at a Lance Armstrong Foundation event in Dublin

The Beacon Hospital will be represented at the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, next week (August 24-26), a spokesperson has announced. The Summit is the start of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign, an effort of the Lance Armstrong... Read more

Irish people are using the web to get quality information and updates on swine flu

The website of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has seen the number of weekly visitors increase by 300 per cent since the WHO declared the Swine flu outbreak a pandemic. The site typically got 5,000 or 6,000 unique visitors every... Read more

North Tipperary ambulance drivers to start strike on August 19

Emergency ambulance services in Nenagh, Thurles, and Roscrea will continue, but no other ambulance services, starting on August 19, according to SIPTU, which is representing ambulance drivers in a dispute with management. What’s going on? Here’s the statement from SIPTU:... Read more

Care service in Roscommon for post-illness and injury gets certification for continuous improvement

The Intermediate Care Service teams in Roscommon Primary, Community and Continuing Care, HSE West have been awarded certification for continuous improvement, customer focus, use of a systems approach, evidence-based decision making and business excellence. The National Standards Authority of Ireland... Read more

New Health Centre on Inis Oírr officially opens

The Aran Islands are on their way to having a full Primary Care Team unit, with the official opening of a new Health Centre on Inis Oírr. Inis Oírr has a population of 247 (2006 census) and a range... Read more

Keeping up-to-date with swine flu - information for GPs, hospital doctors, ambulance staff, home carers, and more

If you want to stay up-to-date with the constantly evolving guidance on swine flu preparedness and treatment, bookmark the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. They have Guidance for GPs Guidance for ambulance staff Guidance for hospital clinicians And: Weekly updates... Read more

Download the Irish Healthcare Awards '09 brochure

The deadline for the Irish Healthcare Awards is looming: entries must be received by 3 p.m. on August 7. Download the pdf of the brochure. The categories are: Best Education Project – General Practice/Pharmacy Best Hospital Project Best Educational Meeting... Read more

Few adults monitor level of alcohol at home

A new survey by the Aislinn Centre has found that 9 out of 10 adults have some form of alcohol at home, but only half of them monitor their levels of alcohol. Director of the Aislinn Centre, Declan Jones said... Read more

A new health strategy for heart disease: brush and floss your teeth!

Minister for Health, Mary Harney has opened a new professional dental chain, Redmond Molloy, in Dublin City Centre. From the press release: “The Redmond Molloy dental chain aims to provide a new vision for oral health in Ireland, tackling... Read more

Twenty new health and fitness jobs in Ennis

The Ozone Centre in County Clare has announced 20 new jobs for Ennis: the new jobs will be created over the next six weeks at the newly opened Ozone Centre in the Quin Road Business Park. Here's the press... Read more

Kila and Ciara Considine playing gig to support autism school

The families of 24 children with autism are hosting a music night at the Village, Dublin, on Saturday, April 18, to to raise urgently needed funds for Saplings School for Children with Autism. Live acts Kíla and Ciara Considine, followed... Read more

For God and for Ireland! In case you missed it...

An ethics lecture in Cork on euthanasia was cancelled last week because protesters called the speaker a "murderer." At least "murderer" is what the Irish Examiner heard. The HSE has stated: "Strong vocal opposition made it impossible for the chair... Read more

Harney calls for proposals on Human Tissue Bill

Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children, today announced the commencement of a public consultation on proposals for a Human Tissue Bill. The consultation document sets out proposals to regulate the removal, retention, storage, use and disposal of human... Read more

Felipe Contempomi, Prof John Reynolds, and Fonemenders team up to raise money for cancer

A new recycling initiative is hoping to raise half a million euro for cancer research at St James's Hospital. Fonemenders, a mobile phone repair chain in Ireland, will recycle old phone here and sell them in overseas markets. Here's... Read more

5,000 people to protest transfer of cancer service from Sligo General to UCHG

The Save Sligo's Cancer Services group is organising a demonstration for tomorrow (Good Friday) to protest the transfer of cancer services at Sligo General to an 'overcrowded UCHG'. From the group: At Least 5,000 expected at Good friday march in... Read more

BUDGET: Responses from the opposition and patients’ groups

Here is a compiled list of the responses IMT has received regarding the Supplementary Budget. They are, in the order set out below, from Fine Gael Health Spokesperson, Dr James Reilly; Jan O’Sullivan, Labour Party Spokesperson on Health; Age Action;... Read more

Check IMT.ie for coverage of the IMO pre-AGM press conference

IMT.ie and Viscera will be offering coverage of the Irish Medical Organisation's pre-AGM press conference today at noon. Check back later today for updates and analysis. The AGM will be held in Killarney from April 16 - 19.... Read more

BUDGET: ASH Ireland ‘very disappointed’ with 25 cent tobacco increase

From Action on Smoking and Health (ASH): ASH Ireland is very disappointed with the 25 cent increase in the price of tobacco announced in today’s budget statement. This approach to tobacco price runs totally contrary to the Government’s stated policy... Read more

BUDGET: Irish Heart Foundation slams small increase on cigarette tax

Michael O’Shea, Chief Executive, Irish Heart Foundation, said he is very disappointed that "the Minister for Finance has spurned a wonderful opportunity to improve the nation’s health." He continued: "Putting 25 cents on a packet of cigarettes will have minimal... Read more

GP study day to focus on skin cancer

A GP study day focusing on the early detection and prevention of skin cancer will be held at the beginning of Melanoma Awareness Month. Organised by La Roche-Posay in association with the Irish Cancer Society, it will take place on... Read more

April Budget analysis and news - updates later today and tomorrow morning

If you're looking for detailed news and analysis about the effect of the April budget on healthcare, check out IMT.ie and Viscera, the blog of IMT.ie, for coverage. Coverage and updates will begin this evening with expanded coverage on the... Read more

Mary Harney bans ‘legal e’

The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, announced today that 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) has now been declared a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and that its possession or sale is now a criminal offence. BZP... Read more

Trinity professor and Tallaght consultant honoured by University of Athens

Professor Colm Ó’Moráin, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Trinity College and Professor of Medicine Tallaght Hospital, was awarded a Doctorate in Science honoris causa by the University of Athens. He is the Chairman of the Public Affairs... Read more

Decision to postpone CF unit at St Vincent's should be reversed - CF Association

There is enough money to build the much-needed new ward at St Vincent's that will house a 30-bed isolation unit for CF patients – if CF is prioritised, and if the Government takes into account dropping prices of building costs,... Read more

Irish Heart Foundation launches CPR initiative

The Irish Heart Foundation has launchd a new CPR campaign for Happy Heart Weekend, May 14 - 16, 2009. The national heart health charity’s aim is to improve the national survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest by training 80,000... Read more

MEP goes after rogue doctors by proposing EU-wide medical registry

Ireland South MEP Colm Burke wants to amend the Cross-border Healthcare Directive to stop medical professionals who have been struck off the medical register in one member state of the EU from practicing elsewhere. MEP Burke's amendment reads: "There... Read more

Grainne and Sile Seoige help support St Patricks Hospital

Grainne Seoige and Sile Seoige are supporting St Patricks University Hospital, Dublin in the Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon on June 1st. Funds raised for the hospital will go towards a wide range of new and much-needed mental health services including... Read more

New Clinical Director for Waterford Regional appointed

The HSE has appointed Dr Rob Landers to the position of Clinical Director for Waterford Regional Hospital. Dr Rob Landers views his priorities in his role as Clinical Director to be: “To develop a robust clinical governance structure at... Read more

Ireland ranks poorly on European lung cancer report

One of the country's foremost lung cancer experts, Prof Des Carney, says a new report shows that 88 per cent of all Irish patients are diagnosed with lung cancer once they are in the late stages of the disease.... Read more

Crowds protest closure of Bantry General

Just under a thousand people protested Saturday at the closing of Bantry General Hospital. Photo: Tony McElhinney... Read more

Dr John Hillery appointed to pharmacy regulator

Dr John Hillery, the former President of the Medical Council, has been appointed by the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, to the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) - the industry watchdog of pharmacists and pharmacies... Read more

HSE launches new consent guidelines for hospitals in the South East

Healthcare professionals in hospitals in the South East have new guidelines to follow when obtaining consent for examination or treatment from patients in hospital. Guidelines for Consent to Clinical Examination and/or Treatment can be downloaded here. An example of its... Read more

Medical Schools still heavily reliant on funding from non-EU students

This is what the Medical Council's Head of Education and Training, Dr Anne Keane, has to say about the new Review of Medical Schools: In 2007, substantial progress is evident in the five medical schools that were involved in the... Read more

And they say nobody ever publishes good news about the health service

Things are getting better in the Irish health service. Ireland climbed one spot in the Euro Health Consumer Index (download the .pdf), from 16 to 15. According to the latest rankings, there have been significant improvements in waiting times over... Read more

Should hospital management ask doctors before cutting services?

If I had a nickel for every time I heard a doctor, or an organisation representing doctors, complain that hospital management scrapped a service, or made significant changes to frontline services, without discussing the move with doctors, I'd have enough... Read more

Don't blink or you will miss the next great healthcare scandal

Are you bored after the medical cards victory? Too lazy to go marching to protest education cuts? Well, go here and tell Mary Harney that you want her to reverse the decision to axe the HPV vaccination programme. Please also... Read more

HSE blows 100 grand on a publication of its own press releases

Those of you who have read the HSE's internal newsletter, Health Matters, know that it's a largely self-congratulating publication designed to make HSE staff, strewn across the country and dogged by unfair headlines, feel as though they're part of a... Read more

What was the crisis at St Vincent's?

IMT recently reported that "eight new interim beds that had been promised for CF patients at St Vincent’s Hospital have been delayed because elderly patients had to be unexpectedly moved from the geriatric ward to a ward that had been... Read more

If they ban traffic in the city centre, how will I get to the new children's hospital?

A new report commissioned by Dublin City Council has warned that traffic capacity is set to double shortly, while there is no more room for cars in the city centre. The report states that it may be necessary for traffic... Read more

Crumlin Hospital publishes report on removal of wrong kidney

Crumlin Hospital has published the independent review report of the investigation into the removal of the wrong kidney from patient XY in 2008. That and a press statement can be found on the hospital's website.... Read more

Public health measures in Budget 2009 ‘disappointing’ - RCPI

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has supported the Budget's price increases on wine, cigarettes, and a reduction on low alcohol duty, however it has called the disappointing in other respects. Here's the official statement from the RCPI (which,... Read more

IHCA responds to 2009 Budget

Here's the official response to the 2009 by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA): Budget Shortfall Will Undermine Frontline Health Services The IHCA President, Dr. Paul Oslizlok, has expressed his extreme concern that the Budget will result in very damaging... Read more

HSE clarifies staffing levels

It did not take the HSE long to respond to the Minister for Finance's proclamation that surplus management and administrative staff would receive voluntary redundancies. Here's (the majority of) a press release that arrived ten minutes after Brian Lenihan mentioned... Read more

Health budget increased 2.1% to €15.8 billion

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has announced that spending in health will increase 2.1 per cent to €15.8 billion. Only health, social welfare and education will see increases in the 2009 Budget: Social welfare: 8.4 per cent increase to €19.6... Read more

Starting tomorrow, you may not even have your health

Tomorrow is budget day, and if you are not feeling any stress, you probably do not own anything, have any dependents, or you are independently wealthy. We're being reminded, even when everything is falling apart, not to work too hard.... Read more

MRSA down, but experts urge caution

MRSA infections for the first six months of 2008 have fallen by 3.5 per cent compared with 2007 and 7 per cent when compared with 2006, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). However, Dr Robert Cunney, HPSC microbiologist,... Read more

NI rape survey: are the Six Counties for real?

We thought the Republic had it bad - with 41 per cent of men believing that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she is drunk or takes illegal drugs, that 37 per cent believe she... Read more

Misdiagnosed woman dies after cancer was missed three times

Pictured: Ann Moriarty with her husband, Karl Henry A woman who was given an 'all-clear' for breast cancer at Ennis General Hospital died one year after her first misdiagnosis, Irish Medical Times has reported. This underlines the need for... Read more

Stolen: HSE laptop with personal information on 1,200 health workers

The HSE has confirmed that a laptop containing personal information about 1,150 health workers was stolen from the home of a senior medical officer in public health medicine earlier this month. According to the HSE, the laptop was "password protected,... Read more

Rebecca O'Malley responds to HSE plan

Rebecca O'Malley, the woman who was given a false all-clear for breast cancer and subsequently had to have a mastectomy, has responded to the HSE's plan to implement recommendations arising from the HIQA report into her case. In a press... Read more

‘A promising student who fails to deliver’ - Reilly's assessment of Harney

Fine Gael Health Spokesperson, Dr James Reilly, who is not at all known for hyperbole, has delivered some rather severe marks to on the health service, and, it seems, general aptitude. These are direct quotes from a press release we... Read more

RCSI Library blog adds IMT news feed

The RCSI Library has started a blog to "post information about new developments from the Library and to regularly update you on how to get the best use of healthcare resources, for example how to use PubMed more effectively, how... Read more

Groups fight moving mental hospital to prison

Mankind has spent a long time, and only made progress of late, trying to decriminalise mental illness. Can you believe you live in a country that wanted to undo that work? At least somebody's trying to make a stand.... Read more

Linking neonatal ICUs in far-flung places with specialists in centres of excellence

The practice of transferring venitilated newborns to get EEGs, or sending EEG data via post or courier to specialist centres for analysis, may soon be a thing of the past.... Read more

Harney is wrong about cuts to services: irishhealth.com poll

Irishhealth.com asked its registered readers if they believed Mary Harney's promise that budget cuts would not affect services for patients. Of those who responded, about 90 per cent said they did not. I want to know where the other 10... Read more

Putting the elderly out of sight

Is it a coincidence that the day after I spent my lunch hour reading Daniil Ivanovich Kharm's "The Old Woman," in which an old woman visits a young man's apartment and dies, and he becomes so angry at the woman... Read more

What do the HSE and Mohammed Saïd al-Sahaf have in common?

The Irish Times today reported that the HSE plans to revert to devolved regional managers. Irish Medical Times ran the same story three months ago (March 18, 2008). Here's how the HSE responded to the story by our reporter, Gary... Read more

Why won't the HSE accept its own figures?

There were 1,236 fewer people in possession of a full medical card in Co Donegal on June 1 this year compared to a month earlier. That is a fact. The Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) said so. It should know,... Read more

CUH responds to allegations of crisis

Here is the CUH response to the Irish Examiner story in full: Cork University Hospital Refutes Allegations In Staff Email Leaked To Media Cork University Hospital has categorically refuted the allegations made in a news item published on the front... Read more

How to survive a healthcare scandal (only if you're not a patient)

The HSE probably won't try to spin its way out of the horror story that emerged from Cork University Hospital in today's Irish Examiner. But where the HSE cannot fight spin wars, it wages wars of attrition. Here's the story... Read more

Baby declared stillborn 'comes to life'

You may remember the blog earlier this month dealing with a man who came back to life just before doctors were going to remove his organs for transplantation. This story is equally as shocking. A premature baby girl declared stillborn... Read more

Dead like me

Good god! Just read this...... Read more

US expert and Prof Tom Keane square off

Prof Floyd Loop, founder of the Cleveland Clinic in the US and a keynote speaker at the 5th Annual National Healthcare Summit, told audience members that healthcare was "a fiscal problem more than anything else." He'd been discussing cost-sharing as... Read more

Skip waiting lists! Perform surgery on yourself!

Anyone languishing, in agony, on a surgical waiting list should take heart from the case of ex-soldier Mervyn Mills, 58, currently in the news for, um, chopping off his own toe with a chisel and hammer. According to the Irish... Read more

The right to object

Joe Higgins has a right to object to Dublin City Council's decision to grant planning permission for a co-located hospital at Beaumont. Whatever you think of his politics - whether you love them, hate them, or really couldn't care less... Read more

The butterfly effect

The HSE loves butterflies. Honestly! While researching an article, I read, for the first time, the HSE's Transformation Programme 2007-2010 document. It's 20 pages long. Seven contain little else except a picture of a butterfly - usually on pages that... Read more

Hospital wipes may spread MRSA

Researchers are now telling us that certain hospital wipes, which are sold as "anti-bacterial," may be spreading MRSA, not getting rid of it: it's like being told broccoli causes cancer. MRSA survives on the wipe and spreads to every other... Read more

Buy a sunflower for hospice care: the HSE can't touch it

Hospices and palliative care services throughout the Republic will benefit financially from Sunflower Days, which take place on June 13 and 14. On those dates volunteers throughout the State will be selling sunflower pins for €2 each. The fundraising drive... Read more

Cytology lab association slams tender award to US company

The decision to award Quest Diagnostics with a contract to provide all of Ireland's cytology screening is not just bad; it's a potential disaster - according to the Irish Association for Clinical Cytology (IACC). According to an IACC press release,... Read more

No hope is better than false hope

The National Strategy for Service User Involvement in the Irish Health Services was launched yesterday by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service Executive, Prof Brendan Drumm. A document containing very laudable... Read more

Asthma Society marks World Asthma Day

To highlight World Asthma Day today, the Asthma Society of Ireland held a seminar for members of the Oireachtas to highlight that Ireland has the fourth highest level of asthma incidence in the world. New research conducted by the... Read more

Naked Gun: The Return of the HSE

The Health Service Executive has held its National Achievement Awards 2008! It reminds me of the scene in one of the Naked Gun films - I can't remember which - where Detective Frank Drebin (brilliantly played by Leslie Nielsen) has... Read more

Time to face down privatisation?

A backlash is underway in Britain among nurses who are convinced that private companies should no longer be allowed to clean hospitals in the fight against infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. The Royal College of Nursing in that... Read more

Smoking is up despite the ban

More people are smoking today than in 2002, according to the Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition (SLÁN) in Ireland, published by the Department of Health (where did they get the fada?). This is exactly the opposite of what you... Read more

Do women in Ireland have a right not to be raped?

The 12-year sentence handed down on Richard Finn, the 20-year-old man who repeatedly raped a woman - while filming her with his mobile phone - in the grounds of a church, has once again got everyone asking if rapists in... Read more

The world is too full of diversity; keep your blood to yourself

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions? It's part of their religious beliefs. That answer mustn't be clear enough for the High Court, which (again) has ruled that doctors, this time at Cork University Hospital, may give a life-saving blood... Read more

TD to rape victims: I'm sorry you're upset

Labour spokesperson on Disability and Equality issues, Kathleen Lynch, has apologised for writing a letter on behalf of a man on trial for raping and sexually assaulting two teenage girls. In the letter, Deputy Lynch testified that the attacker, Trevor... Read more

Misdiagnosis death in Drogheda: facts revealed, lessons unlearned

The HSE has condemned itself in an investigation of the death of a 34-year-old woman who gave birth to twins in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. A report based on the HSE investigation found that maternity, paediatric and anaesthetic... Read more

Mary Harney in velour pyjamas

The Biopsy Report captures Mary Harney incognito.... Read more

Please dig yourself out of the grave; the doctor will see you now

A woman who died 17 years ago recently received notification of a hospital appointment from the Health Service Executive, it emerged in the Dáil yesterday. If anyone wanted evidence to back up recent findings that the HSE is suffering from... Read more

MRSA? See ya later alligator!

It seems the answer to MRSA has been staring us in the face all along. It's alligators!... Read more

Cork backed as site for new hospital in Northeast

The recommendation of Navan as the site for the new Northeast regional hospital, reported by RTE, would have been the most shocking news of the week had it not been for Bertie Ahern's surprise resignation. And it's the biggest surprise... Read more

Taoiseach resigns; health service says, Who?

The Taoiseach's surprise resignation announcement this morning may have sent shockwaves through political circles and the building industry, but it was met, in the healthcare sphere, by widespread shrugging of the shoulders. There will, of course, be speculation over cabinet... Read more

Abandon hope, all ye who protest a poor health service

There is the health service that exists in the real world, and then there is the health service that exists in the HSE's own national staff newsletter, Healthmatters. (The most recent issue has not yet been posted, so here's a... Read more

Bacteria-killing sutures could help stop MRSA

Scientists in Glasgow have used stitches covered with bacteriophages to stop the spead of MRSA in hospitals, according to the BBC. In a study, these sutures killed 96 per cent of MRSA strains from people in three hospitals.... Read more

Management-speak gone mad, or as we know it, HSE statements

Anyone who thought they were alone in being half incredulous, half severely annoyed over the language used by the HSE in their press releases and statements can relax—IMO CEO George McNeice received a round of applause today at the AGM... Read more

Compassionate suicide, or murder?

Chantal Sebire, the French woman with a very rare from of cancer whose court application for an assisted suicide was rejected, has been found dead in her home. The case highlights the necessity for continued debate on euthanasia and 'mercy... Read more

The Colour of Alzheimer's Disease

Fantasy writer and creator of the very strange 'Discworld' series Terry Pratchett, who was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's Disease (called posterior cortical atrophy) in December, has announced he is donating $1 million for research into the condition.... Read more

What do YOU do in your spare time?

Irish surgeon and plastic surgery maestro Mr Peter Butler, famous for spending fifteen years determinedly working towards performing the world's first full face transplant, has found time to help develop a "miracle" healing gel for plastic surgery scars. Called "Heal",... Read more

Doctor, have you REALLY checked my colon?

New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that flat or depressed lesions in colons are linked to cancer. The findings not only threaten the viability of virtual colonoscopy, but will place doctors under new... Read more

A mystery, an enigma, and something else walk into a bar

Fianna Fáil TD Mary O'Rourke, reacting to news of long waiting times for cancer patients, called the HSE "a mystery wrapped up in an enigma, wrapped up in something else." The HSE isn't quite the KGB, but it ain't... Read more

A new era in fertility treatment

UK fertility doctors are performing the world's first trial of in vivo development (IVD) - which allows fertilised eggs to grow in the womb rather than a petri dish. The Guardian reports: "The year-long trial, involving fertility clinics in Nottingham... Read more

Doctors need Coronary ICUs on airplanes

Panda Bear MD, a blog worth getting to know, rails against the media for condemning doctors who "let a patient die" on an airplane. Hats off again to medGadget for spotting him.... Read more

US-Italian cancer collaboration speeds advances

Scientists in Virginia and doctors in Italy have teamed up to further personalised cancer treatment and proteomics – identifying and blocking ways in which the growth of cancer cells can be stopped. The Washington Post story details how former scientists... Read more

Richer countries must not plunder health resources of poor countries: Lancet

A Lancet editorial has urged delegates at the first-ever Global Forum on Human Resources for Health convened by the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) in Kampala, Uganda, to seek ambitious goals. The issue has taken a close look at health... Read more

Contracts talks in trouble...again

It looks like an agreement on the new consultant contract may be headed for another protracted and excruciating standoff, as the Secretary General of the IHCA and the Chief Executive of the HSE-EA sent some rather nasty letters to each... Read more

Stem cells show success in treating blood disorders

Medical News Today is reporting that a majority of "blood disorder patients treated with stem cells from their own cord blood (autologous transplant) or from the cord blood of a sibling (allogeneic-related transplant)... were cured or achieved remission from their... Read more

All the latest clinical trials, personalised

Doctors who use the IFPMA's Clinical Trials Portal to stay up-to-date with news about ongoing and completed clinical trials have just got an upgrade with the introduction of MyPortal. The new service allows doctors to get alerts and easily repeat... Read more

HSE staff still holding the rope

An internal HSE memo has revealed the extent to which the HSE's new local area employment monitoring groups are restricting recruitment of health service staff, irishhealth.com has reported. The group in that region has agreed to fill only 91 of... Read more

Have you made sure there is no surgical towel inside the patient?

The family of an Ohio woman who lived seven years with a towel inside her body has settled with the Cleveland-based clinic where the towel was left inside her chest. Weird Health News found the update to the story, which... Read more

The beginning of the end of influenza

Researchers at Canada's McGill University have discovered a way to make cells in mice virtually immune to some viruses, including the flu. If this is ever turned into an effective antiviral therapy for humans, essentially making the flu obsolete... Read more

Mary Harney's decision making made easier

After reading this excellent post over on Michael Nugent's That's Ireland blog, I realised the chart would work equally well for the Minister for Health. I would make something similar for Mary Harney, but a. I don't have time to... Read more

New hope for spinal injury patients

A new technique that uses the body's nerves to bypass spinal injury could help thousands of patients regain feeling, and possibly even the use of their limbs, new research has suggested. First reported in New Scientist magazine, the research shows... Read more

Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide!

They may be as boring as hell a lot of the time but Oireachtas committees have two distinct advantages. Firstly, scattered among the debris of waffle, debates and verbal scuffles that break out at these things; there are wee nuggets... Read more

Dr Wakefield responds to Viscera

Dr Andrew Wakefield, whose 1998 research on the effects of MMR and its possible links to autism sparked a massive controversy, has responded to a recent study that claims to dismiss the link. Here's his response, sent by email to... Read more

The science of foetal pain

According to a paediatrician and medical professor at the University of Arkansas, foetuses have the ability to feel pain after 20 weeks gestation, and perhaps earlier. The claim has major impact on the use of anaesthesia during fetal surgery, and,... Read more

Irish doctors on BJS podcast

Mr Des Winter of St Vincent’s University Hospital has been interviewed by the British Journal of Surgery, about a study published on Laparoscopic Lavage for Perforated Diverticulitis. You can listen to the podcast here.... Read more

Leading healthcare IT firm arrives. Whither iSoft?

What in the world is Cerner doing in Ireland? Has the HSE lost its faith in iSoft? Also, just discovered this well-written, if irregularly updated, blog, The Health Tech Blog.... Read more

Dr Colin Pierce receives Registrar's Prize

Mr. Paddy Broe (left), Beaumount Hospital, awarding Dr. Colin Peirce, UCD with the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland’s Registrar’s prize, on February 5th 2008 in Dublin.... Read more

Pre-chewed food can pass HIV to babies

HIV-positive parents can pass the disease to babies by pre-chewing food, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US have found. The New York Times is reporting that the study shows another way in which babies,... Read more

Breakthrough in IVF science

The BBC is reporting that scientists in Newcastle University have created a human embyo using three separate parents. If this is true, it could "eradicate a whole class of hereditary diseases" in women with diseases of the mitochondria.... Read more

Killing time: best medical blogs of 2007

Here's a list of nominees, identified by medGadget, of the top medical blogs from around the world, 2007. There's only one Irish entry, so far as we know, called, The biopsy report, but the blogger refused to accept the nomination... Read more

Is this a fight back?

Has any verbally or physically abusive hospital patient ever been taken to court or had any type of legal action brought against them? A minority of patients and their relatives, who attend accident and emergency departments, can be obstreperous at... Read more

Who else is tired of David McWilliams?

The Irish Independent's first lead story of 2008 was strange for a number of reasons. The thrust of the story was this: the President of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine, Mr Fergal Hickey, wrote an angry letter to Mr... Read more

The HSE's answers

So, if Mary Harney has trouble getting information from the Health Service Executive, what chance do the rest of us have? In a thinly veiled attack on the HSE during a recent Dáil debate on the breast cancer row, the... Read more

The workings of the HSE

It's old but still good: Once upon a time it was resolved to have a boat race between a hospital team and a team representing the HSE. Both teams trained long and hard to reach their peak performance. On the... Read more

Everything but the kitchen sink

Once again I have to take my hat off to The Irish News for supplying the inspiration for this blog. The Belfast-based newspaper has broken a great story about what was stolen from 18 hospitals in the north over the... Read more

The waiting game

Don't get me wrong. We have to have value for money when we are spending public funds. But do you ever wonder how many patients suffer and health workers are disrupted while health service organisations go through the months-long rigamarole... Read more

The self-perpetuating industry of bureaucracy

Dr Fin Breatnach If you're starting to get the feeling that the growing power of standards-setting authorities is diminishing your ability to work, that's because it is. Next week, Irish Medical Times is publishing an interview with Dr Fin... Read more

Consultants should try working in hospitals - Taoiseach

Unless you really do spend all your time on the golf course, as a doctor you ought to have heard Bertie Ahern's recent comment to the Sunday Tribune: "I really get tired of listening to these people who can earn... Read more

Use by ... The Nazi invasion of Russia

How many times have you rummaged around in your cupboards and found tins of food or bottles of condiments that went of date at the same time as mullet hairstyles or shoulder pads on dresses?... Read more

The Barney with the Harney

Never mind 'The Rumble in the Jungle'. It's time for 'The Barney with Harney'. Dr James Reilly bounces into the reconvened Dáil, full of beans after being appointed Fine Gael spokesperson for health. The challenger for the ministerial title has... Read more

Consultants are 'overpaid as it is'

A poll on RTE's website asking people whether hospital consultants should be paid over 200,000 euro a year doesn't throw up any surprises.... Read more

Former patients can rest in peace

Seems like the Department of Health in the north hasn't grasped the concept of public consultation yet. In the Republic, public consultation on health issues frequently means the Department of Health or the Health Service Executive (HSE) decide what they... Read more

The Medical Council wants YOU

The Medical Council has flicked the lights and called last orders. Doctors - GPs specifically - have less than a month to volunteer for the Council's Professional Practice Review (PPR) pilot. The Council had high hopes for the pilot, but... Read more

Four wheels good, two wheels bad!

Call me cynical but something tells me that more money needs to be invested in the ambulance service in Derry.... Read more

Like a rolling stone

We all know the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. Or do we? Numerous health problems for the drinker; the dangers of drinking and driving; fights and violence caused by booze. No laughing matter, I think we can all agree.... Read more

The things people talk about when they talk about bed capacity

Vincent Sheridan Vhi CEO Mr Vincent Sheridan - while speaking at a press conference this morning to justify the proposed hike in insurance rates - reminded us all of healthcare's dirty little secret: that the economics of capacity is... Read more

Give me your organs, please

England's Chief Medical Officer has said that organ donation regulations should change, from opt-in to opt-out: meaning everyone, when they die, would be organ donors, unless they have specifically requested not to be.... Read more

A disgusting polemic

A shortish blog today. I was not going to write about the disgraceful Kevin Myers and his polemic in today's Irish Independent, which is a basically rant against Muslims and his desire to stop them entering Ireland, but it disturbed... Read more

It's a dog's life for the HSE

If the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) were dogs, the former would be a lumbering family canine that likes to be petted while the latter would be the yippy wee puppy that gets its nose rubbed... Read more

Saving millions: managing chronic disease in the community

Prof Brendan Drumm A study of a new incentive scheme by Medicare in the US has shown that millions can be saved by keeping patients out of hospitals. One of the ways this was accomplished was to establish a... Read more

Gagging of public health advocates

Dr Richard Carmona An interesting story caught my eye the other day on claims by the 17th surgeon general of the US - now retired - that he was gagged for political reasons on a range of issues. Now... Read more

The HSE's Holy Grail

Monty Python's The Holy Grail is a bit like the Health Service Executive's primary care teams. Arthur, King of the Britons, and his Knights of the Round Table travel through Britain looking for the Holy Grail. The only problem... Read more

Ah good man Bertie, ye big eejit!

Just when you thought it was safe to open a newspaper after the election and not see some Irish politician making a complete gobeen out of himself, our beloved Taoiseach manages to put his foot in it.... Read more

Saving lives every day

Yawning isn't rude. It's all about surival, new research in Evolutionary Psychology suggests. Also, it's not about oxygen, but cooling the brain. According to the BBC: The common wisdom is that people yawn because they need oxygen, but the... Read more

Get off the bandwagon and put down the handbook

Today I was having a conversation with someone about snobbery. I was saying how the worst kind of snobbery is what I’ll call ‘fake’ snobbery—driven by a need to come across a certain way, or to make yourself look... Read more

Dr Evil, where are you?

Where's a maniacal wannabe world dictator when you need one? Those guys, according to science fiction, usually have all sorts of wonderful gadgets with which to dominate the world. Included among that inventory is often a weather control machine.... Read more

The Top 40 Movers and Shakers in Irish Healthcare

This year Irish Medical Times celebrates 40 years of reporting the news in Irish healthcare. It is a milestone to be celebrated as far as we are concerned. Those of you practising medicine in the Irish Republic should have... Read more

Digging up the past

Maybe if the Western Health and Social Care Trust were involved in the peace process in the north of Ireland, then peace, love and harmony would have broken out decades ago. You see the Trust has managed to unite the... Read more

Money, patients and the Mental Health Commission

Maybe it got lost in the election. Maybe it was because it revealed a few embarrassing facts. Maybe the powers-that-be just thought our lives were too complicated and we already had enough to think about. Whatever it was, the... Read more

Raindrops keeping fall on my head

The ongoing deluge of rain which is hitting Ireland might just save the lives of some of the more foolish in our society. They are the geniuses who insist on running out and sunning themselves like cats whenever so much... Read more

The rise of the machines

Some people wouldn't even breathe for themselves if they could get a machine to do it for them. This remark is aimed at a large group of a certain type in our society. Typically, they are relatively young (15 to... Read more

Time to protest

A number of trade unionists have called for the end of privatisation of the health services. The most vocal of them is Jack O'Connor, general secretary of SIPTU, who told the Sunday Business Post that his preference would be for... Read more

Are public health doctors too private?

What do public health doctors actually do? You frequently hear this question as there is a lot of ignorance out there about what their role is in the health service. Indeed, there is probably a juicy contract to be had... Read more

Lost in translation

Cynicism and journalism go hand in hand unfortunately... kind of like altruism and the priesthood. Although you don't actually have to be cynical to want to be a journalist, it's more that you turn cynical over time, so maybe that's... Read more

They think they have to control us... It's actually quite scary,

In an exclusive interview in this week's Irish Medical Times Dr Christine O'Malley says that trolley counts in large hospitals' accident and emergency departments are being artificially reduced by refusing to admit seriously ill patients from other hospitals. Dr... Read more

Left On The Shelf

The next time you are asked to put up shelves for a friend or relative, explain to them that it is not quite as simple as that. First of all you have to get clearance and funding for the shelves.... Read more

Jumping the shark

I happened upon a little gem of a Dublin publication today at a local cafe - The Jupiter: "A monthly newsletter of ephemera published in Dublin using all the latest printing and typesetting technology." In fact, this is low-fi,... Read more

I'm starting to feel like Harrison Ford

Ruyan, the Chinese maker of the E-Cigarette, is expanding its market into the US and Europe, and its sales are expected to double in 2007. The devices are battery-powered, cigarette-shaped devices that deliver doses of nicotine when inhaled. They... Read more

Did you know?

Did you know that an estimated 7,000 Americans a year die as a result of doctors' bad handwriting? (Harper's, April 2007). Or that the happiness boost that men gain from a firstborn son is 75 per cent larger than from... Read more

"Chemo fog" and no more "there, there"...

Recent international attention on the effects of chemotherapy on memory loss, lack of concentration, language deficits and the inability to do more than one task at a time has focused on hundreds of posts (self-effacing and hilarious at times) by... Read more

Next Minister for Health?

The opinion poll in today's Irish Times is bad news for Bertie Ahern and suggests he won't be forming the next Government. So if there is a Fine Gael-Labour coalition in power who will be the next Minister for... Read more

Are we sure they're Catholics?

New figures from a human rights organisation in Mexico have revealed that about 1,500 of the 200,000 women who have illegal backstreet abortions there every year die from unhygienic and botched operations. This horrible fact was used by such... Read more

Greedy GPs?

Go on! Blame the GPs! I dare you! It has recently been intimated, in the nurses' and consultants' disputes, that both of these groups are looking for too much money. Hardly an original line of attack on the part... Read more

Not again...

The apparent murder/suicide in Wexford over the weekend which saw the deaths of a husband, wife and their two small daughters leaves so many questions unanswered. I don't mean questions as to why a man would apparently take the lives... Read more

Consultants fight back on Questions and Answers

Senior IHCA negotiator Michael O'Keefe provided one of the few coherent public arguments for the rejection of the new consultant contract when he appeared on RTE television's Questions and Answers tonight. O'Keefe is one of the most articulate spokesmen... Read more

Junior doctors won't work with "aggressive" HSE

The consultants haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in handling their media relations in the dispute over the new contract. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association are disputing the fact that one of their members ever used the phrase "mickey... Read more

When is an advocate not an advocate?

Over 450 consultants attended the Irish Hospital Consultant Association's (IHCA) EGM in Dublin, and judging by the steady applause behind closed doors, and the buoyant mood of members who filed out those doors, they believe what they are saying. The... Read more

Operation 'blame the nurses'

So industrial action by the Irish Nurses Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association is affecting patients, is it? After three days of nurses stopping work, the HSE informed us that about 70 patients' procedures (operations to you and me)... Read more

I'll give you €60,000 for your womb

If you thought there was no answer to the question "How much would I get for my uterus?" you were wrong. The answer is: "How old are you, how many children have you had and were you planning on... Read more

Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into

The question that must be asked when reading the front page of today's Irish Independent, Ireland's largest selling daily newspaper, is: Will doctors never learn? This would then be quickly followed by: Will someone ever tell them to keep... Read more

'Some kids turn out to be scum'

There are many journalists ready to tell you what they think and what you should think. But journalism in its purest form should be a vehicle for informing the public in as honest a manner as possible, without spin.... Read more

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The Irish Medical Times Blog: Health service news and views

All entries for Health service news and views