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News: June 2007

Product ads need to be substantiated by clear evidence

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Regulation, Research and Education

A new study into the accuracy of pharmaceutical product advertisements has revealed that almost 7 per cent of claims made in the ads are unpublished or unsupported by evidence. Two GP registrars with the HSE Eastern Regional GP Training Scheme... Read more

Pharmacists call for ID to restrict OTC access

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

Pharmacists have called for greater restrictions on over-the-counter (OTC) medications containing codeine, by suggesting a scheme similar to that in Australia where people need ID to buy certain drugs. The Chairman of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union’s (IPU) Community Pharmacy Committee... Read more

Irish doctor receives top oncology award in USA

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Research and Education

An Irish doctor working at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, has won a major award for cancer research with a drug designed to help women who have trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer. Dr Brian Hennessy received an ASCO, given... Read more

€3.5m in 2006 for training and education

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Research and Education

The Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) Medical Education, Training and Research Committee approved more than €3.5 million in ring-fenced funding to the postgraduate training bodies, training facilities, and HSE librarians, according to the HSE 2006 Annual Report. The committee, chaired by... Read more

UL awaiting approval from Medical Council

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Regulation, Research and Education

The new medical school in the University of Limerick (UL) is still waiting approval from the Medical Council before the first Irish intake of graduate entrants begins in September. The council’s accreditation team visited the medical school a few weeks... Read more

NCHDs are positive about their hospital co-workers

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine, Research and Education

Junior doctors are happy with the relationship between themselves and non-medics in hospitals and are also positive about the overall atmosphere in the institution where they work. The findings are revealed in an Irish Medical Organisation’s (IMO) survey of non-consultant... Read more

BreastCheck sources trailers and equipment

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

Mobile mammography screening trailers and digital imaging equipment are being bought by BreastCheck. The National Breast Screening Programme has awarded a contract to a company to provide the trailers for its Dublin, Cork and Galway centres. However, it has not... Read more

Less hours for pregnant NCHDs

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine, Industrial Relations

Junior doctors’ representatives are looking for exemptions for pregnant NCHDs so they do not have to do on-call work from the 24th week of their pregnancy and do not have more than 10 hours a day from their 28th week... Read more

Millions are spent on contract staff

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Health Management

The Grangegorman Development Agency’s is being forced into spending between €1.5 million and €2.5 million over four years to hire an organisation to provide it with a wide range of services, due to its lack of employees. The Agency was... Read more

Testicular cancer awareness among Irish men is poor

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Public Health, Research and Education

Knowledge of testicular cancer, the incidence of which has doubled in the last 20 years in Ireland, is very poor among Irish men. Just 17 per cent admitted to being examined by their doctor for the disease. Researchers from the... Read more

Doctors should highlight risks of GM food- IDEA

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

The Secretary of the Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA) has called on Irish doctors to highlight the dangers of genetically modified (GM) food and prevent the planting of genetically engineered crops here. Public health doctor Elizabeth Cullen, in an article... Read more

HSE cleared after discrimination claim

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Industrial Relations, Medico-Legal

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been cleared by the Labour Court of discriminating against a male employee who accused it of discrimination on the grounds of gender and age. The 34-year-old sessional pharmacist, who was employed by the HSE... Read more

Lecture theatre plan for Bord Pleanála

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Planning and Development

The College of Anaesthetists has appealed to An Bord Pleanála after it was refused permission to build a lecture theatre at its Merrion Square premises, which is a protected building. The College applied to Dublin City Council in late March... Read more

Registrars are unable to sign admission orders

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Regulation

Specialist registrars were denied the chance to sign admission and renewal orders for involuntary psychiatric patients in May. The then Minister of State at the Department of Health, Tim O’Malley rejected a suggestion that specialist registrars, acting on behalf of... Read more

Delay in forming new Expert Advisory Groups

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has not announced any new Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs) despite an announcement from Prof Brendan Drumm that at least two more would be formed by early 2007. Additionally, no information about the work of existing... Read more

Children's hospital debate

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Health Management, Hospital Medicine

The only people in Ireland who support the Mater Hospital site for the national children’s hospital are people with vested interests in the Mater, a Crumlin Hospital anaesthetist has told Irish Medical Times. Dr Brendan O’Hare said that ongoing talks... Read more

Ireland leads Europe in asthma admissions

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

Ireland has some of the highest number of hospital admissions from asthma than most other European countries, new figures show. They were released in a report looking at people’s experiences with asthma across Europe. Switzerland and Finland had the highest... Read more

Sligo GP gets mental health/disability job

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Health Management

Sligo GP, Dr Jimmy Devins, is expected to be appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for disability issues and mental health. He will be the first doctor since Mayo GP, Dr Tom Moffatt to have a direct input into... Read more

Hospital devises new protocol on giving relatives information

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

Senior House Officers and interns at Sligo General Hospital are not to be involved in giving information to relatives about a patient’s medical condition. The Office of the Ombudsman’s annual report for 2006 noted that a protocol on this issue... Read more

Tallaght decision is 'under duress'

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The decision by the Board of Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, to allow the development of a private hospital on-site has been heavily criticised by opponents of the Government’s co-location plan, including deputy leader of the Labour party Liz McManus. “It was... Read more

Motorbikes speed up response times

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

The use of emergency motorbikes has improved response times in Dublin, when compared to ambulances, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General. Mr John Purcell said, in his latest report, that this was because motorbikes can negotiate traffic and access... Read more

Cork GAA team are to be screened for skin cancer to help raise awareness

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

The Cork GAA football team will be screened for skin cancer at a special melanoma clinic in Cork in an effort to raise awareness of the disease among men. Dr Michelle Muprhy, a dermatologist at South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital,... Read more

Prof Prendiville will be head of Skills Centre

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

Prof Walter Prendiville has been appointed director of Ireland’s first National Clinical Skills Centre (NCSC), based at the Coombe Women’s Hospital. The NCSC, which received funding from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland... Read more

Specific training in STIs needed

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | General Practice

Although the majority of sexual health services in Ireland are delivered by GPs in the community, such care is often disorganised and under-resourced. Many GPs are screening for and treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which have been on the increase... Read more

Report addresses serious challenges

Ian McGuinness | 29 June 2007 | Regulation

The Department of Health’s Review of the Operation of the Mental Health Act 2001 has been published without any fanfare or highlighting it to the media or the general public. The five-year review took submissions from a range of interested... Read more

Mary Harney gets a second chance

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Health Management

Mary Harney’s first three years as Minister for Health was, by parts, tumultuous, productive, and frustrating. As she begins what could possibly be a five-year stint at the helm of the Department Health, she faces many of the same controversies-... Read more

98% of questions answered

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Health Management

The Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Health Service Executive (HSE) has answered all but 10 of the 3,500 questions referred to it by the Minister for Health in 2006. The division also received more than 1,200 questions during the first... Read more

GPs' stethoscopes are harbourers of bacteria

Sandra Ryan | 29 June 2007 | Public Health

Despite repeated calls for increased hygiene standards in Irish healthcare, GP stethoscopes have been found to carry large amounts of bacteria, according to a new study done to assess whether or not these devices are carriers for MRSA. Dr Seoighe... Read more

Quigley will run for presidency of Medical Council

Greg Baxter | 29 June 2007 | Regulation

Dr Colm Quigley has told Irish Medical Times that he plans to run for presidency of the Medical Council in the upcoming election as well as when a new council is formed under the Medical Practitioners Act. Dr Quigley said... Read more

New contract to be agreed by October

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

A new hospital consultant contract can be agreed by October, when the Minister for Health addresses the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) AGM, according to the Association’s Secretary General. Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick has expressed optimism about negotiations. Delaying industrial action... Read more

Internal politics prevalent in Irish hospital system

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 |

The vast majority of junior doctors believe internal politics exists in their hospital, a survey by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has revealed. When asked to react to the statement ‘There are no internal politics in my hospital,’ 38 per... Read more

Penny-pinching delays

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Public Health

Hundreds of involuntarily detained psychiatric patients have not had a mental health tribunal review their case because they were released before a panel was established to consider their detention, a Department of Health document has revealed. Under the Mental Health... Read more

Everything you wanted to know about nurse prescribing but were afraid to ask

Sandra Ryan | 22 June 2007 | Health Management

Earlier this year the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, announced that nurse and midwife prescribing would be introduced this year. No specific date was given and the exact details of the project were vague, although it was stressed that “public... Read more

He lost the war but he battles on

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Interviews

Former Mayo independent TD, Dr Jerry Cowley, has had a month to come to terms with his election defeat. The Mulranny GP is back in his practice, which has three offices in the county. Dr Cowley said his locum, who... Read more

Patients say new legislation will stop 'aberrant' behaviour

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Medico-Legal, Regulation

The patients of Dr Michael Neary are happy with the new Medical Practitioners Act. That is the view of a representative of Patient Focus, the organisation which helped to highlight the Neary case and to seek redress for the women... Read more

The long-term illness scheme is inadequate

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Health Management, Regulation

The long-term illness scheme has been criticised by the advice and advocacy organisation, the Citizens Information Board, which branded it “inadequate”. The organisation made the comments in its quarterly report for October to December 2006. It explained that a mother... Read more

Unions reject a two-tier health service

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

Health services in the community should be free at the point of contact, the Assistant Secretary General of the trade union IMPACT told the 4th National Healthcare Summit in Dublin. Mr Robbie Ryan said his union wanted to ensure that... Read more

Brian Hayes appointed as Fine Gael spokesperson

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 |

Fine Gael has appointed Deputy Brian Hayes as its interim health spokesperson. The Dublin South West TD won back his seat at the recent election, after he lost it in the 2002 ballot. He was elected to Seanad Éireann after... Read more

Planning for new units goes ahead

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Planning and Development

Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital is due to get a 10-bed isolation unit, after Fingal County Council granted it planning permission for the development. The board of management at the hospital received permission at the end of May to demolish two... Read more

Harney in for the long haul

Colin Kerr | 22 June 2007 |

Mary Harney will become one of the longest running ministers for health in the history of the state if the Government serves out its full term until 2012. Minister Harney, who was re-appointed to her ministerial position as part of... Read more

Plan for 60 extra primary care centres

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Private Healthcare

Touchstone Healthcare is looking at 180 sites as possible locations for its primary care centres, Irish Medical Times has been told. A spokesperson for the company said that while 180 potential sites in the Republic are being looked at, the... Read more

Research centre on elder abuse

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Research and Education

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is looking to establish a dedicated national centre for research and evaluation in the area of abuse, neglect and exploitation of older people. The HSE intends to fund the centre for the first three years... Read more

HSEEA and IHCA clash over consultant contract talks

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

The Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive Employers Agency (HSE EA) and the Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) clashed publicly over whether money was an issue in consultant contract negotiations. Speaking on a panel... Read more

Antibiotics administered to patients may lead to higher levels of infection

Sandra Ryan | 22 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

A review of the hospital-acquired infection, Clostridium Difficile Toxin (CDT) in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick has found that Ireland’s incidence of the infection remains high, and that the use of multiple antibiotics needs to be avoided to reduce... Read more

Interest shown in satellite dialysis

Greg Baxter | 22 June 2007 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has received interest from five dialysis providers for a Limerick satellite service, but has been criticised for wanting to locate the service too close to the Midwest Regional Hospital. Irish Medical Times has learned that... Read more

Court makes decision in favour of managers

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

The Labour Court has made two recommendations in favour of health management in the ongoing row over public health doctors’ pay and a proposed out-of-hours service. The court rejected the Irish Medical Organisation’s claim for a 7.5 per cent pay... Read more

Threat to refer junior doctors is withdrawn

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

Health management has withdrawn the threat that it will refer junior doctors to the Medical Council if they do not take up posts that they are offered, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). Mr Fintan Hourihan, director of industrial... Read more

Holles Street must be moved to St Vincent’s

Sandra Ryan | 22 June 2007 | Health Management, Hospital Medicine, Planning and Development

The Master and Deputy Chairman of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles St have said they hope the hospital is re-located to St Vincent’s University Hospital following the review of maternity services in Dublin, currently underway by the Health Service Executive... Read more

Lack of progress on aspects of national mental health strategy

Sandra Ryan | 22 June 2007 | Health Management

One of the country’s leading psychiatrists has agreed with the criticism over the lack of progress made on the Government’s report on mental health services, A Vision for Change, most of which still has not been implemented. The Independent Monitoring... Read more

Former TD set to remain active

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | General Practice

The former independent Mayo TD, Dr Jerry Cowley, has said he will continue campaigning on local issues and will not disappear from the media spotlight. Speaking to Irish Medical Times, the Mulranny GP, who returned to his general practice after... Read more

IMO rubbishes HSE claim over EWTD

Ian McGuinness | 22 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

A Health Service Executive (HSE) claim that up to 70 per cent of junior doctors’ working hours are compliant with the European Working Time Directive has been rejected by the Irish Medical Organisation. The doctors’ union said only a tiny... Read more

Doctors should back reform plan

Colin Kerr | 15 June 2007 | Health Management

The chief executive of the Health Service Executive has called on doctors and other healthcare professionals to support the Executive’s Transformation Programme. Prof Brendan Drumm, writing in the Irish Medical Times 40th Anniversary supplement said the Executive is hopeful of... Read more

New companies are established by the IMO

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Medico-Legal

Two new companies have been established by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) in just over a year, the latest one being set up less than a month ago. The latest company was registered with the Companies Registration Office on 25... Read more

Ruling on release of references

Ed Madden | 15 June 2007 | Medico-Legal

In the first half of 2002, Ms T applied for a position of Registered Nurse for the Mentally Handicapped (RNMH) with the Order of Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. Ms T understood that she was successful in the... Read more

Patients reluctant to visit GPs because of fees

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | General Practice

GPs’ fees stop patients from seeking consultations with doctors, research by the Economic and Social Research Institute has shown. The research, conducted in 2000 and 2004 in the former Western Health Board and Eastern Regional Health Authority, used the granting... Read more

Award for Irish audit

15 June 2007 | Public Health

A presentation on the Irish National Stroke Audit was awarded a Distinction by the European Stroke Conference at its annual meeting in Glasgow on 31 May. The project, whose Principal Investigators are Prof Desmond O’Neill, TCD and Prof Hannah McGee,... Read more

Doctors obliged to oppose genetically modified foods

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 | Public Health

Doctors have an ethical and moral duty to oppose genetically modified (GM) foods in the interest of the health of future and present generations, the Secretary of the Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA) has stated. Dr Elizabeth Cullen, a public... Read more

New doctor-only cards are still short of target

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Public Health

Another 5,653 people have been given either full or doctor-only medical cards, the latest statistics from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service have shown. On 1 June an extra 3,518 people had a doctor-only card compared to the start of May,... Read more

HSE to buy 10 renal machines for Cork region

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Health Management

Over half-a-million euro is being spent by the Health Service Executive to buy continuous renal replacement therapy machines for Cork. Ten machines are being bought by the HSE, along with various associated products. The machines and related products will have... Read more

Drug and alcohol use in young to be studied

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Research and Education

The largest Government-funded research project which will examine drug and alcohol use by young people is due to begin this October or before, according to the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD). The NACD wants a contractor to carry out... Read more

Doctor faces 10 in Seanad vote

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 |

Dr Maurice Guéret will face ten other candidates in the Seanad elections in the University of Dublin (Trinity) constituency, where sitting senator Mary Henry has stepped down. Senators David Norris and Shane Ross are sitting senators in the constituency. Other... Read more

Hospital privatisation plan opposed

Sandra Ryan | 15 June 2007 | Private Healthcare

A new report is highly critical of the Government’s plan to have private hospitals built on public grounds. The report, entitled The Irish Health Service: Vision, Values, Reality, was co-authored by two organisations affiliated to Tallaght Hospital, the Adelaide Hospital... Read more

IHCA says data on HSE Bed Review is not appropriate for Ireland

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) Acute Hospital Bed Use Review, which found that 13 per cent of patients were inappropriately admitted to hospital, was based on a measurement tool that may not be relevant to Ireland, the Assistant Secretary General... Read more

More court appeals

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Medico-Legal

More High Court appeals against decisions of mental health tribunals are being taken than was originally expected, it has been claimed. Dr Kate Ganter, Chairman of the Irish College of Psychiatrists, said: “People have an entitlement to go to court... Read more

Objections are raised over Mt Carmel plans

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Planning and Development

Twenty objections have been lodged in relations to Harlequin Healthcare’s plans for Mount Carmel Hospital, according to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The Council told Irish Medical Times that this was the number of objections that had been lodged against the... Read more

Patients should wait no longer than six hours

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

A six-hour waiting time limit for patients in the country’s emergency departments is achievable and must be implemented as quickly as possible, according to the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM). The IAEM has criticised the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s)... Read more

Clinicians are in charge, says HSE

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has denied claims by the former Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) President, Dr Christine O’Malley, that bed managers are preventing inter-hospital transfers of seriously ill patients. A HSE statement said: “The decision on whether or not... Read more

Average cost of treatment falls when patient is over 70

Ian McGuinness | 15 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The average cost of treating a person in hospital falls after the age of 70, new research has indicated. The finding only applies to people who did not have a terminal illness, according to the research carried out on behalf... Read more

Fighting for better access

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 |

The decision by Dr John Hillery to resign as President of the Medical Council to run for the Seanad should surprise nobody. His father, Dr Patrick Hillery, was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1951, and was subsequently inaugurated as... Read more

HSE say more beds is not the answer

Greg Baxter | 15 June 2007 | Health Management

Two major reports commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE)- published on the same day- have essentially substantiated arguments Prof Brendan Drumm has been making for the past two years. The reports suggest that services in the North East are... Read more

GPs can educate patients on OTCs

Sandra Ryan | 15 June 2007 | General Practice

The media loves to highlight the number of people addicted to over-the-counter painkillers, because it is one of those issues that everyone seems to be waiting to explode. Numerous articles and stories have appeared in the past few years either... Read more

Doctor's indiscretion led to GMC hearing

Ed Madden | 08 June 2007 | Medico-Legal

Dr Noorullah Yakubi worked as a senior house officer is obstetrics and gynaecology at Watford General Hospital, UK. On 10 June 2004, while working on the wards at the Hospital, he was consulted by a young woman who had earlier... Read more

Everything you wanted to know about cervical cancer vaccines but were afraid to ask

Sandra Ryan | 08 June 2007 | Public Health

The first birth control pill that stops menstruation completely has been approved in the US and will most likely be approved in Europe shortly. This pill, called Lybrel, will probably then be available to Irish women. Another recent development is... Read more

Final cost of PPARS remains unknown

Greg Baxter | 08 June 2007 | Health Management, Information Technology

The taxpayer may never know the total costs of the Personnel, Payroll and Related Systems (PPARS), if recommendations by a major internal Health Service Executive (HSE) report are accepted. The report, Progress Report Following Due Diligence on PPARS and the... Read more

St James’s developments stalled

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Planning and Development

Plans for two important developments at St James’s Hospital in Dublin have been stalled after Dublin City Council declared both planning applications invalid. The first application, submitted on 30 April this year by the hospital’s board, sought permission to construct... Read more

EU donor card is recommended

Sandra Ryan | 08 June 2007 | Public Health

The European Commission (EC) has recommended the introduction of a European organ donor card to increase the availability of organs throughout the European Union (EU). The EC also plans to improve co-operation between EU states in the area of organ... Read more

Lord Mayor's award for Dublin consultant

08 June 2007 |

Mr Patrick Plunkett, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, has received the Lord Mayor of Dublin’s award for services to the community. The Lord Mayor Cllr Vincent ‘Ballyfermot’ Jackson presented the award at a special ceremony in the Mansion House recently. After... Read more

Online gambling is major problem

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Public Health

Public health doctors should “go for the jugular” and deal with problems associated with gambling by addressing its online form, Prof Patrick Wall has said. The University College Dublin professor said problems experienced by online gamblers are at “the more... Read more

Hospitals should offer NRT routinely to patients

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Public Health

Hospitals should routinely offer nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to patients because not to do so is nearly morally indefensible, according to Dr Fenton Howell. Dr Howell made his comments following an address entitled ‘Hospitalisation- An Opportunity for Smoking Cessation Intervention,’... Read more

Less than half of all DEXAs are in public hospitals

08 June 2007 | Research and Education

Only 22 of the 59 locations in the Republic of Ireland with a DEXA scanner are in public hospitals, a study has found. Furthermore, the review said that just because they were located in public hospitals does not mean that... Read more

HSE capital budget used to pay PPARS

Greg Baxter | 08 June 2007 | Health Management, Information Technology

The Health Service Executive (HSE) used millions of euro from its capital budget to meet revenue budget shortfalls for the Personnel, Payroll and Related Systems (PPARS) project, according to an internal report seen by Irish Medical Times. Additionally, the HSE... Read more

ASH chairman defends his call for ban on smoking in Irish cars

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Interviews, Public Health

It is inevitable that smoking in cars will be banned, Prof Luke Clancy has predicted. Despite the negative response from some callers to radio shows that he appeared on to discuss this issue, Prof Clancy is sticking to his line.... Read more

Patients can help improve Ethics Guide

08 June 2007 | Regulation

The Medical Council, the regulatory body for members of the medical profession, has invited members of the public and the medical profession to make submissions for the review of its Guide to Ethical Conduct and Behaviour. The Guide to Ethical... Read more

AIDS specialist sought by Foreign Affairs

Greg Baxter | 08 June 2007 | Public Health

Irish Aid, the section of the Department of Foreign Affairs that deals specifically with assistance to developing countries, is seeking a specialist in public health to work with its HIV/AIDS team. Irish Aid has invited expressions of interest from public... Read more

St Vincent's seeks eight-storey ward

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Planning and Development

An eight-storey inpatient ward building is to be constructed at St Vincent’s University Hospital, if it receives planning permission from Dublin City Council. In a recent application to the local authority, the hospital explained that it wanted to put 120... Read more

PMDB did not comply with state bodies code

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Regulation

The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies was not complied with by the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board (PMDB) in 2005 because it did not have a Board, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said. Mr John... Read more

Destruction of records is criticised

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Health Management

Individual hospital staff members should not be allowed to destroy medical records on their own initiative, no matter how senior a rank they hold, the Information Commissioner has warned. Ms Emily O’Reilly made the remarks in her annual report for... Read more

Doctor seeks TCD Seanad nomination

08 June 2007 |

High profile GP and editor of the Irish Medical Directory Dr Maurice Gueret has announced his nomination for election for one of Trinity College’s University’s three seats to the Seanad. He is hoping to replace Dr Mary Henry who is... Read more

IHCA calls for Teamwork plan to be implemented

Greg Baxter | 08 June 2007 | Health Management

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has demanded that the Health Service Executive (HSE) start implementing key recommendations of the Teamwork Report in order to improve or eliminate inadequate services in the North East. Mr Donal Duffy, Assistant Secretary General... Read more

NCHDs may seek the same hours as nurses

Ian McGuinness | 08 June 2007 | Industrial Relations

The reduction of the normal working week for junior doctors must be addressed in light of the resolution of the nurses dispute, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said. Mr Fintan Hourihan, the union’s Director of Industrial Relations, said: “What... Read more

Lack of mental health directorate criticised

Sandra Ryan | 08 June 2007 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive’s failure to establish a National Mental Health Directorate has been criticised by the Independent Monitoring Group, which is analysing the implementation of the Government’s A Vision for Change report on psychiatric services. In its first report... Read more

Crumlin seeks review

Sandra Ryan | 08 June 2007 | Planning and Development

Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin is strongly considering re-entering development plans for the new national children’s hospital, which they pulled out of in January due to their disagreement with the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) Transition Group over the hospital’s location.... Read more

Suicide bombings cannot be blamed on mental illness

Sandra Ryan | 08 June 2007 | Research and Education

Suicide attacks cannot be blamed on Islamic teachings or mental illness, according to research presented by an Irish psychologist at a meeting in London last week. Dr Akhtar Ali Syed, clinical psychologist and head of psychology at the Brothers of... Read more

Cancer breakthrough

Greg Baxter | 08 June 2007 | Research and Education

Recent new findings in the study of the genetics of breast and ovarian cancer could significantly increase the number of women identified with the genetic mutation for ovarian cancer- the biggest gynaecological cancer killer. Dr Sam Coulter-Smith, consultant obstetrician and... Read more

Talk the talk, or walk the walk warning to HSE from NCHDs

01 June 2007 | Interviews

Junior hospital doctors have had enough of the dismissive attitude of health service employers and according to the new IMO NCHD Committee Chairman, they are as mad as hell and are not going to take any more. Dr John Morris... Read more

Harney hangs on but Reilly is the big election winner

Colin Kerr and Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Health Management

Minister for Health, Mary Harney could return to Hawkins House, despite her party’s disastrous performance in the general election. The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has indicated that his preferred option in forming the new government is an alliance with independent TDs... Read more

Legal threat to Act has 'no basis in law'

Greg Baxter | 01 June 2007 | Medico-Legal, Regulation

The threat of legal action to halt the introduction of the Medical Practitioners Act has no basis in law, a source has told Irish Medical Times. The source, a legal expert who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did... Read more

New private hospital at St Vincent’s appealed

Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Planning and Development, Private Healthcare

Plans for a 260-bed private hospital at the St Vincent’s University Hospital site have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Two people have appealed Dublin City Council’s decision to grant the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group planning permission for the new... Read more

Warfarin dispute is settled in North East

Sandra Ryan | 01 June 2007 | General Practice

GPs in Cavan are the first in the country to have access to a new method of warfarin testing, after settling a dispute with the Health Service Executive (HSE) in the North East. Last year, GPs in the area said... Read more

Doctors have mixed fortunes in 2007 vote

Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Features

There is one less doctor in the Dáil Éireann this time, with five to take up their seats in the house compared to six before the election. Fianna Fáil had four doctors in the 29th Dáil but GP, Dr Dermot... Read more

Medical Council’s ethical conduct guide now under revision

Greg Baxter | 01 June 2007 | Regulation

The Medical Counci has invited all doctors to send suggestions during the revision of the Council’s Guide to Ethical Conduct and Behaviour. The Council is currently revising the sixth edition of the Guide, published in 2004, and is calling upon... Read more

New guidelines for the care of CVD in women

Sandra Ryan | 01 June 2007 | General Practice, Public Health

GPs have new guidelines for treating cardiovascular disease in women. The Women’s Health Council and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP), have produced the document to highlight the difference between CVD in women and men. Accordng to the authors,... Read more

Ennis company wins HSE recruitment job

Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Health Management

Three-quarters-of-a-million euro are being spent by the Health Service Executive (HSE) on a contract for a company to find 150 healthcare personnel from outside Ireland to work here. The HSE awarded the contract to Healthcare Solutions, which is located in... Read more

12 doctors guilty of misconduct after FTP investigations

Greg Baxter | 01 June 2007 | Regulation

Twelve doctors were found guilty of professional misconduct in 2006 out of 19 inquiries held before the Medical Council’s Fitness to Practice (FTP) Committee. One doctor was found unfit to engage in the practice of medicine, three had sanctions imposed... Read more

Tribunals overturning involuntary detentions

Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Public Health

However, this means that 857 tribunals, or six out of every seven, did not result in revocations. Some of the involuntary detentions were overturned because of judicial interpretations, which had to be taken into consideration by subsequently held tribunals. Meanwhile,... Read more

Women's health improving

Sandra Ryan | 01 June 2007 | Public Health

Women’s healthcare in Ireland has improved rapidly in recent years, a women’s health conference has heard. Ireland is now level with other European countries in getting new medications and implementing new developments for women, according to director of women’s health... Read more

Withheld consultant pay increase an 'irritant'

Greg Baxter | 01 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The Decision by the Minister for Health to withhold the 2 per cent pay rise for consultants under benchmarking has been described by the Secretary General of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) as nothing more than an “irritant”. Mr... Read more

Distant residences risk lives of NCHDs

Ian McGuinness | 01 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

Junior doctors have been involved in car accidents because some NCHD residences are too far away from hospitals where they are on call, it has been claimed. Dr John Morris, Irish Medical Organisation NCHD Committee Chairman, said some residences are... Read more

Patient challenges detention

Ed Madden, BL | 01 June 2007 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent High Court case which considered whether a patient with a history of admission to hospitals for psychiatric reasons was lawfully detained in the Central Mental Hospital In April 2007 a patient at the... Read more

Call to end ‘fragmentation’ of breast cancer services

Sandra Ryan | 01 June 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The recent case of Rebecca O’Malley, the mother who found out she had breast cancer 14 months after being told by Cork University Hospital (CUH) her biopsy was normal, may not have taken place if official quality assurance guidelines were... Read more

New healthcare systems helping the elderly

01 June 2007 | Information Technology

A unique Irish North and South collaboration between private enterprise and the University of Ulster aims to use new technologies in order to assist elderly people in the community to live longer in their own homes Dublin company, Valentia... Read more

New code of practice for healthcare records

Sandra Ryan | 01 June 2007 | Health Management

The National Hospitals Office (NHO) has launched a new code of practice for managing healthcare records in hospitals. The guidelines are aimed at ensuring consistent and coherent patient records in public and private hospitals, and mean that patient information has... Read more