Comments for Irish Medical Times

Comment on New ‘Associate specialist’ grade deadline tight by Chris Maharaj

Chris Maharaj — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:43:51 +0000

Associate Specialist Grade in my opinion is basically the NCHD performing daily Consultant work, Consultant on-call duties, Consultant decisions, and so on – in exchange for a sub-consultant grade job, sub-consultant pay (in some cases sub-Senior Reg pay) and no formal direction career-wise. This is just another farce as was the recent recruitment drive. Better healthcare? I don’t think so! Saving money at increased risk to patients? I DO think so – in my humble opinion.

Comment on Participate in alcohol debate, doctors urged by John-Paul Kennedy

John-Paul Kennedy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:41:31 +0000

I think it is difficult to limit the ability of people to exercise their free will to harm themselves. The problem is that people who drink too much may cause harm to others (i.e. road users, taxpayers, ED patients). It is important that the public are informed about the consequences that can result from drinking excessive alcohol so that their decision to harm themselves is made despite being fully informed.
Hospital workers will have seen people of all ages die as a result of alcohol excess. The general public don’t seem to firmly link alcohol to disease and the concept of units of alcohol is nowhere near as familiar as the price of petrol per litre. The waist size message directed at those who are overweight seems to be easier to grasp than BMI. We may need to rethink the message about the safe consumption of alcohol as expressed in units.
I think that education about alcohol should be on the secondary school syllabus. Irish parents could store their alcohol safely in the same way that guns in the US are often be stored in gun cabinets. Excessive alcohol consumption is tolerated as normal – we need to adjust our norms. We should find a better example for our children of how to celebrate first communions, christenings and weddings than hauling everyone off afterwards for a “feed of beer.”
The cheap sale of alcohol in supermarkets as a loss-leader could be banned. There is no reason why alcohol should not come with similar warnings to those on cigarette packets.
If a patient is presented to the ED in a state of alcoholic inebriation (as determined clinically and documented by the doctor on duty) then a statutory charge of €100 could apply and this could be deducted directly out of social welfare payments if required.

Comment on ICGP says GPs should adopt new referral form by Garrett McGovern

Garrett McGovern — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:12:35 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. This is another example of creating barriers for patients that require specialist services, which is a difficult enough process in itself. This one is a few pages long. I once saw a referral form that consisted of 19 (yes 1….9) pages. After completing about the fifth page I forgot what the patient was being referred for in the first place!

Comment on North East next on the list for NIMIS roll-out by admin

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:41:43 +0000

Thanks for the comment. We based details in the piece on information supplied to us by the HSE just last week, but it may now appear that was out of date. We will follow up immediately.

Comment on North East next on the list for NIMIS roll-out by D Asher

D Asher — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:34:43 +0000

NIMIS is live in the NE since end of November beginning of December.

Comment on ICGP says GPs should adopt new referral form by Ruairi Hanley

Ruairi Hanley — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:38:56 +0000

Agreed Conor – this is a disgrace

Are the ICGP actually trying to turn GPs into pen pushing form fillers?

Burn the damn form

Comment on Doctors say ‘Bravo’ to human rights by DarkCloud

DarkCloud — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:03:36 +0000

There was worse… The police took [others] from there houses without permission. They tortured them every day in every possible way until the Bassiouni Report came out. Their families didn’t know if they were dead or alive for three months.

Doctors are important, but I see that the other people don’t get a mention at all. Some almost died in prison either by torture or the food. Most of the prisoners that got tortured now have psychological problems and need help. They don’t eat, they don’t sleep a lot or the opposite, some think everyone is against them now…etc

You remember the woman that burned herself? She didn’t get tortured physically; it’s from the inside — the fear of her child getting hurt. All the mothers feel that way.

Comment on Participate in alcohol debate, doctors urged by dr brian corrigan

dr brian corrigan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:18:02 +0000

This is a middle-class/grey suit attempt to curb alcohol abuse by people who have forgotten what it is to be an adolescent. I’m sure its based on figures extrapolated from European countries. The problem is we are different to Europe; we take our cues mainly from the UK. Adolescents will simply pool their money and still buy alcohol. Meanwhile we all suffer the upward and onward rise in the cost of living in this country.
The answer in my view is to provide alternatives to the pub. Tackle the vintners lobby and allow restaurants, cafes and even pizza houses to serve draft alcohol (bottled alcohol is seen as too expensive by young adults). You may be providing alcohol outlets, but combined with food it will provide a more civilized alternative social scene in a less pressurized environment than the pub.
This proposal will simply fail.

Comment on Cardiac screening is advised for all young Irish athletes by Rory O'Hanlon

Rory O'Hanlon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:08:29 +0000

Thanks for the comment Peadar. There was a bit of a lost in translation statement above I’m afraid. There are many other causes of SCD and indeed HCM is only one of them, although most studies internationally show that it is the commonest cause. In Veneto, due to screening, deaths due to HCM have been reduced significantly since screening is generally very effective as picking up this condition. Screening is an emotive topic indeed but I sincerely believe that there should be facilities readily available to provide simple and straight forward screening for people involved in sport. It is unlikely ever to be mandatory and indeed I believe that the decision to avail of screening is one to be made by the individual /family themselves.

Comment on ICGP says GPs should adopt new referral form by Conor McGrane

Conor McGrane — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:10:58 +0000

This draft referral form is simply awful and could only have been designed by a committee!
Any form where you have to get past the first page before you can give any details about what is actually wrong with the patient has serious problems.
No GP I know routinely writes referral letters any longer than a page long, and no consultants I even worked for ever read beyond the first page….
So Lads and lasses, good try but now go away and come back with something useful the next time….