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News: August 2007

New posts are unevenly shared

Greg Baxter | 31 August 2007 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive (HSE) plan to spend more money on the most efficient departments has netted large numbers of new consultants in Dublin, the Mid West, and the South East, while hospitals in the South, North West and the... Read more

Beaumont supports RCSI application

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Planning and Development, Research and Education

Beaumont Hospital has said it now supports plans by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) to expand its education and research centre at its Dublin 9 campus, even though the hospital had objected to the proposal. Irish Medical... Read more

Health in Practice set for expansion

Colin Kerr | 31 August 2007 | General Practice

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is planning to meet the Medical Council to discuss the expansion of its Health in Practice Programme (HIPP). The HIPP project was established in 2001 under the direction of Dr Andrée Rochfort to... Read more

Tallaght Hospital keeps quiet on tender costs

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

Tallaght Hospital has refused to state how much it will pay for software that would allow it to produce staff rosters, and has also not stated the cost of transport service tenders that it has awarded. The hospital recently announced... Read more

New psych unit can go ahead without planning

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Planning and Development

St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview, Dublin has been told it doesn’t need planning permission for a new six-bed unit at the psychiatric institution. The hospital applied to Dublin City Council in June this year for planning permission for the development.... Read more

ICGP HQ to stay put at Lincoln Place

Colin Kerr | 31 August 2007 | General Practice

Irish Medical Times has learned that the Irish College of Practioners is to stay at its present headquarters in Lincoln Place for at least another three years. College officials had been considering moving to a new premises because of pressure... Read more

Sexual assault victims treated up by 15 per cent

Greg Baxter | 31 August 2007 | Public Health

The number of sexual assault victims seen at the Rotunda Hospital is up 15 per cent from 2005 to 2006, and continues to rise. Dr Mary Holohan, Rotunda obstetrician and National Medical Director of Adult Sexual Assault Treatment Services, told... Read more

HIQA fills major technology post

Greg Baxter | 31 August 2007 | Health Management

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has appointed a Director of Health Technology Assessment, who will oversee clinical standards and cost effectiveness in technologies used in the health service. Dr Mairin Ryan, who begins her post at the end... Read more

Chinese police seize over a ton of fake Viagra tablets

Emer Mullins | 31 August 2007 | Foreign News

Chinese police have seized more than a ton of fake drugs for impotence, bird flu and malaria, including at least 18,000 fake Viagra tablets, according to the Chinese Xinhua News Agency. The Ministry of Public Security detained more than 30... Read more

UK: Self-diagnostics in OTC health

Emer Mullins | 31 August 2007 | Foreign News

A new survey of lifestyles in Britain reported in Pharmacy Journal UK has shown that self-diagnostics will be the growth area in over-the-counter (OTC) health for the next five years. The survey said rising prescription charges were a factor encouraging... Read more

USA: Cover cut for hospital infections

Emer Mullins | 31 August 2007 | Foreign News

The US government’s health insurance programme for the elderly and disabled, Medicare, will no longer cover the costs of ‘preventable’ conditions, mistakes and infections resulting from a hospital stay from 2009. Medical News Today reported that the extra cost of... Read more

Scotland: Personal alarm devices for ERI hospital staff

Emer Mullins | 31 August 2007 | Foreign News

The Edinburgh News has reported that staff in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) are facing a tide of violence. It said incidents involving a knife, a baseball bat and a patient who went “berserk” were among 84 for which the... Read more

Campaigning for better health

Colin Kerr | 31 August 2007 | Health Management, Interviews

Good health promotion programmes can help save lives, reduce hospital visits and create a society whose citizens are both physically and mentally healthy. One of the problems with health promotion, however, is that it is not always easy to quantify... Read more

Readership growth for IMT continues

31 August 2007 |

Irish Medical Times continues to grow its readership with more and more doctors realising the value of a strong independent voice providing accurate news and information on the world of medicine. The Average Net Circulation according to an audit by... Read more

Confidentiality rules need to be more relaxed

Greg Baxter | 31 August 2007 | Public Health

Doctors ought to be allowed to inform parents and relatives of patients if they believe there is a risk of suicide, a consultant psychiatrist told Irish Medical Times. Dr John Connolly, Secretary of the Irish Association of Suicidology, said relaxing... Read more

Over 1,000 involuntary psych patients released

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

More than 1,100 involuntarily detained psychiatric patients have been released before they received a mental health tribunal into their detention, it has emerged. The latest figures from the Mental Health Commission show that between November 2006 to July 2007 inclusive,... Read more

Carparks, cash and complications

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 |

Beaumont Hospital has raised revenues of over €10 million since a carpark was built on its north Dublin campus in 1999, Irish Medical Times has discovered. The 2006 accounts for the Beaumont Hospital Car Park Company Limited (BHCPC), which is... Read more

Midwife is compelling witness 25 years after the incident

Ed Madden | 31 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Twenty-six-year-old Monzur Miah suffers from Athetoid Cerebral Palsy. He is severely disabled and wheelchair bound. His condition was caused by the fact that during the final stages of labour at his birth, the umbilical cord prolapsed. As a result, the... Read more

ICGP seeks HETAC recognition for courses

Colin Kerr | 31 August 2007 | Research and Education

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is to seek recognition for its Distance Learning courses from HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. HETAC is the qualifications awarding body for third-level educational and training institutions outside the university... Read more

One-quarter of medical cards held by over-70s

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Public Health

More than one-quarter of all medical cards in circulation are held by people aged 70 years and over, Irish Medical Times has learned. The Primary Care Reimbursement Service said that there were 340,276 people in August this year who held... Read more

Skin cancer now on the increase

Greg Baxter | 31 August 2007 | Public Health

The number of people with skin cancer is expected to dramatically increase over the next few years, and those people are likely to have multiple cancer lesions, the Director of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry told Irish Medical Times. The... Read more

HSE pays out compensation

Ian McGuinness | 31 August 2007 | Industrial Relations

Compensation has been trebled to more than €12,000 by the Labour Court, for a worker who the Health Service Executive (HSE) admitted to discriminating against. The facts of the case were not disputed by the HSE or the worker. The... Read more

Of tales, myths and healthcare

Sandra Ryan | 17 August 2007 | Public Health

No amount of health promotion, it seems, can dispel every myth that exists about certain aspects of healthcare. Old beliefs, superstitions and misinformation spreads and passes down through generations, and only recently have some of them been dispelled for good.... Read more

Hanly, the report that refuses to die

Greg Baxter | 17 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

A revival of the Hanly debate was inevitable following the general election, which saw three vocal Hanly critics, two of whom were incumbents, fail to be elected. Dr Liam Twomey and Mr Paudge Connolly, both elected on healthcare platforms and... Read more

Safer drugs are driving pharmaceutical trade

Colin Kerr | 17 August 2007 | Interviews

John Kiernan, managing director of Quintiles and Innovex Ireland, has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years. He recalls that when he first came into the industry, one of the things that was generally accepted was that... Read more

Lesbian couple were restrained by court from relocating to Australia

Ed Madden | 17 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Two women who lived in a lesbian relationship wished to have a child. After months of consideration and discussion a man they knew agreed to have a child with one of the women by means of artificial insemination. The baby... Read more

Statutory competence assurance set to begin

Greg Baxter | 17 August 2007 | Regulation

Statutory competence assurance will begin in April 2008 for all doctors, the President of the Medical Council told Irish Medical Times. However the first year of statutory CAS will be a “lead-in” year, meaning most doctors will not be involved... Read more

Status of doctors in mental health tribunals quizzed

Ian McGuinness | 17 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

The appointment status of doctors has been challenged by some personnel at mental health tribunals, Irish Medical Times understands. It is understood that the employment status of consultants have been challenged, as well as that of specialist registrars who ‘act... Read more

Doctors' fees keep up with inflation rate

Ian McGuinness | 17 August 2007 | General Practice

Doctors’ fees are keeping pace with inflation, according to the Central Statistics Office. Inflation in the 12 months ending in July 2007 stood at five per cent, doctors’ fees for the same time frame rose by 4.9 per cent. Doctors’... Read more

Ethiopia: Zero tolerance of female circumcision

Emer Mullins | 17 August 2007 | Foreign News

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has urged the international community to back its ‘zero tolerance’ attitude to the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). A statement issued during a conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa from 30 July... Read more

Nicaragua: AIDS awareness campaign begins

Emer Mullins | 17 August 2007 | Foreign News

The president of Nicaragua’s AIDS-HIV Association, Arely Cano, has announced a new campaign against the epidemic to encourage people to protect themselves and undergo tests, according to a report in the People’s Daily online. The campaign will warn people that... Read more

India: Protests against female infanticide

Emer Mullins | 17 August 2007 | Foreign News

Hundreds of women marched through the streets of the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar to protest at a growing number of cases involving female foeticide, according to recent reports from Global Health News. Waving placards that read ‘Hang the murderers’... Read more

UK: Shorter hours and rise in pay

Emer Mullins | 17 August 2007 | Foreign News, General Practice

A new report has revealed that British GPs are working an average of seven hours less each week for the National Health Service (NHS) since the introduction of the new contract in 2004. The contract also increased the earnings of... Read more

Cervical cancer immunisation information given

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 | Health Management, Public Health

A number of schools in Dublin have received official information on immunising pupils against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer, Irish Medical Times has been informed by a healthcare professional. However, the Department of... Read more

Big rise in the numbers of health professionals

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Health Management

The number of doctors, dentists and pharmacists in the Republic is to significantly increase by 2012, according to the Economic Social and Research Institute. Occupational Employment Forecasts 2012, which has just been published by the ESRI, stated that while there... Read more

RCSI and Beaumont row

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Planning and Development

A row between the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital has resulted in the medical education institution being refused planning permission for new teaching, research and laboratory facilities on the campus of its principal teaching hospital.... Read more

Poland: Doctors stage sit-in for higher wages

Emer Mullins | 10 August 2007 | Foreign News

The ongoing strike by doctors and nurses in Poland for higher wages, which included a sit-in near the Polish prime minister’s office, has continued since 19 June. Hospital employees were camped in more than 100 tents across the road from... Read more

USA: Transplant waiting list over 50% minorities

Emer Mullins | 10 August 2007 | Foreign News

Minorities account for 51 per cent of the US transplant waiting list, according to Donate Life America. There are nearly 100,000 people of all ages and races in need of organ transplants that may not come in time. Hundreds of... Read more

Canada: CMA calls for boost in private healthcare

Emer Mullins | 10 August 2007 | Foreign News, Private Healthcare

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has said provincial governments should hire private-sector firms to deliver publicly-funded healthcare services to prevent delays for necessary treatments. Association president Colin McMillan said Canadians needed timely access to medical services and the private sector... Read more

UK: 30,000 doctors start new posts

Emer Mullins | 10 August 2007 | Foreign News

Almost 30,000 British doctors start in new posts under the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) structure this August. Some 10,000 doctors started in foundation programme posts, while 20,000 started speciality training posts. The old system of three grades of junior doctor... Read more

Speeding excuse was found to be a cover-up

Ed Madden | 10 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Between February 2005 and November 2005, Dr Meenakshi Bakshi, with a registered address in Birmingham, was employed as a senior house officer in psychiatry by the Avon and Wiltshire NHS Partnership Trust (Mental Health). At approximately 8pm on 26 April... Read more

Nursing post set to go to arbitration

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Industrial Relations

A row over a director of nursing post not being refilled at Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon, Donegal should be referred to the Health Service National Joint Council, the Labour Court has recommended. The previous director of nursing retired from the... Read more

GP referrals only for new women's centre

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 |

A new consultant-led women’s health centre has been officially opened at the Beacon Hospital in south Dublin, and will provide services to public patients through the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Consultant gynaecologist Dr Sharon Moss, one of two doctors... Read more

Cork GP wins right to build pharmacy

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Planning and Development

A prominent Irish Medical Organisation activist has been successful in a planning dispute over the development of a pharmacy at his medical centre in Cork City. Dr Ronan Boland was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála to build an extension... Read more

Hygiene audit raises barrier

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 | Regulation

The third National Hygiene Audit, which is underway throughout the Republic, involves a ‘rigorous’ new assessment procedure, according to the Department of Health. However, the department has not revealed what this new mechanism is. The audit is now under the... Read more

Judgement postponed

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

The High Court will not decide until later this year whether or not to uphold the Medical Council’s findings of professional misconduct against Prof Walter Prendiville and Dr John Murphy. Both doctors are challenging the findings of the Council’s Fitness... Read more

Dentists awarded cash settlement

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Four senior dental surgeons employed by St Finbarr’s Hospital in Cork have been awarded €5,000 each by the Labour Court because they did not receive as much training as they expected. The case was taken by the Irish Dental Association... Read more

Commissioner overturns HSE decision

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

A former health board tried to deny a deceased woman’s son access to her medical records on the basis that the information in them was personal to her and thereby protected from release by the Freedom of Information Act. However,... Read more

IMO may rent floors at its headquarters

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 |

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) may rent out floors of its headquarters at number 10 and 11 Fitzwilliam Place in south inner city Dublin. The organisation said it might do this as it was announcing an upgrade of information technology... Read more

St James’s extension likely to be permitted

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Planning and Development

A new four-bed intensive care unit may be built at St James’s Hospital, after Dublin City Council granted planning permission for the new development. The hospital applied for permission to the local authority on 1 June this year and the... Read more

Health insurance is market-dependent

Greg Baxter | 10 August 2007 | Private Healthcare

The introduction of universal health insurance, if it ever happens, will have to wait until the health insurance market matures and there are more major players competing, the Chief Executive Officer of VIVAS told Irish Medical Times. “To have universal... Read more

Prescribing nurses are open to litigation

Greg Baxter | 10 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine, Medico-Legal

Nurses who prescribe drugs under new legislation should be prepared to face the same medico-legal issues that clinicians face, an article in the most recent issue of Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland states. However the fear of litigation or regulatory sanctions... Read more

The government must act now

Greg Baxter | 10 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

The increase in the number of people using assisted reproduction technologies could lead to a rise in legal disputes regarding custody and embryo status, a family law expert has told Irish Medical Times. Ms Hilary Coveney, Head of the Family... Read more

Increase in cancer treatments

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The number of people treated for cancer at the Republic’s biggest hospital, St James’s in Dublin, increased by about 125 per cent in 12 years, preliminary data has shown. Statistics presented by Prof John Reynolds, regional director of cancer services... Read more

Consultant contract talks reach decision time

Greg Baxter | 10 August 2007 | Industrial Relations

Bilateral discussions on a new consultant common contract have concluded. Mr Mark Connaughton, the talks chairman, met separately with employers’ and consultants’ representatives during that phase of the process. Mr Connaughton is now expected to recall both sides at the... Read more

GP trainers reluctant to relinquish control of training to the HSE

Sandra Ryan | 10 August 2007 | Research and Education

GP trainers do not want to surrender power on training to the Health Service Executive (HSE) during talks about a new contract, Irish Medical Times understands. GP trainers have been seeking a new contract for over five years. The HSE... Read more

HSE meets Broadstone GPs

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | General Practice

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is to meet a group of Dublin’s north inner city GPs about their proactive proposal for the establishment of a primary care team in their area, which is one of the most deprived in the... Read more

Suicide prevention is everybody's concern

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Public Health

A major international suicide prevention conference is to hold its first ever meeting in Ireland. The International Association for Suicide Prevention will hold its 26th biennial congress in the Irish National Events Centre in Killarney, Kerry from 28 August to... Read more

Extension to health centre is approved

Ian McGuinness | 10 August 2007 | Planning and Development

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has won the right to proceed with a single-storey extension to the health centre at St Joseph’s Hospital in Trim, even though a doctor working there challenged their plans. The HSE was granted permission by... Read more

TCD, St James's and Tallaght collaborate

Greg Baxter | 10 August 2007 | Research and Education

A major new research initiative involving Trinity College Dublin (TCD), St James’s Hospital and Tallaght Hospital, could have a major impact on the recruitment of top talent back to Ireland, the head of TCD’s School of Medicine told Irish Medical... Read more

GSK questions new research published on TZD class drugs

Sandra Ryan | 03 August 2007 | Research and Education

GSK has questioned new research on the risk of heart failure in diabetes patients. Research was carried out into two diabetes drugs, Avandia and Actos. The study of over 78,000 patients published in Diabetes Care estimates that about one in... Read more

Nurse-led injury units redundant

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 |

The proposed introduction of nurse-led injury units in the Mid West will add another layer of bureaucracy and expense but will have a minimal effect on patients, a GP in the area told Irish Medical Times. Dr Mary Gray said... Read more

HSE is accused of manipulating waiting times

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has accused the Health Service Executive of manipulating emergency department waiting times by moving patients to other departments overnight and “stopping the clock”. Mr James Binchy, IAEM Secretary, said manipulation of waiting times... Read more

Conditions of 1986 junior doctor contract still stands- Morris

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine, Industrial Relations

The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) would agree with the Irish Medical Organisation’s stance that NCHDs are still entitled to locum cover as provided under the 1986 junior doctor contract, the Chairman of the union’s NCHD Committee has said. Dr John... Read more

New standards set by robot surgery

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

A new robotic surgical system at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) could be performing two to three surgeries a day by 2009, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology there told Irish Medical Times. Dr Barry O’Reilly, who will be the... Read more

Judge rules against the HSE in pharmacist pay row

Sandra Ryan | 03 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

The Minister for Health’s decision to stop pharmacists receiving advance payments from the Health Service Executive (HSE) was ‘unlawful’, a High Court Judge has ruled. Mr Justice Frank Clarke has stated that pharmacists, represented by the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU),... Read more

Philippine workers' case is concluded

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Fifteen Philippine care attendants were informed by the former Southern Health Board that they were put further down a panel of candidates to fill permanent positions at a hospital because they held work permits. The Equality Authority Annual Report 2006... Read more

Hospital addresses golf club fears over new unit

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The new eight-storey inpatient ward at St Vincent’s University Hospital is going to be of similar height to existing buildings on site, the Elm Park Golf and Sports Club Limited has been informed, according to a hospital spokesman. The information... Read more

HSE purchase five-in-one vaccinations

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Public Health

Millions of euros are being spent on purchasing supplies of the five-in-one vaccine by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The vaccine covers diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, haemophilus influenza b, and polio. While the HSE did not announce how many doses of... Read more

Hermitage Clinic calls for facility extensions

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Planning and Development

The Hermitage Medical Clinic wants to extend its facilities to allow another 31 inpatients at its facility. Hermitage Medical Developments Limited applied last month to South Dublin County Council for permission to build a one-storey extension to the clinic, which... Read more

Donegal gets additional public health nurses

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Public Health

Funding should be put in place for eight public health nurses to be hired in Donegal by the Health Service Executive (HSE) West, the Labour Court has recommended. The issue has been outstanding since 2004. At that time the region’s... Read more

Number of options revealed

Sandra Ryan | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The group carrying out the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) review on maternity and gynaecology services, KPMG Consultants, has revealed that it will be recommending whether or not to have all three Dublin maternity hospitals on one site. At a recent... Read more

Permission granted to medical centre is now under appeal

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Planning and Development

Plans to develop a site in County Longford, which would include a new medical facility, have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Michael Prenty received planning permission from Longford County Council for his plans for the site on the Dublin... Read more

Irish doctor wins award for citations

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | Research and Education

Prof Colm O’Morain has been presented with an award by an American journal for having the most cited article ever published by it during its 20 years in existence. The editorial board of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics made the presentation... Read more

Failure to diagnose abscess

Ed Madden | 03 August 2007 | Medico-Legal

Dr Bijay Kumar Singh, with a registered address in the West Midlands, in the UK, was a general practitioner on the list of the Cannock Chase Primary Care Trust. On 2 June 2001, the doctor received a telephone call from... Read more

Fine line on alcohol advice

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 | Public Health

Irish adults clearly don’t understand the term ‘binge drinking’. Nearly 30 per cent, according to a July report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), believe that binge drinking is defined as having more than 10 drinks on... Read more

Only 10% of Irish rape victims report attacks

Sandra Ryan | 03 August 2007 | Interviews

Can sexual violence ever be fully stamped out, as is the aim of the Rape Crisis Network? Probably not, but one encouraging statistic to emerge recently was that there has been the increase in the number of rape cases reported... Read more

GPs lack resources to screen pregnant women for diabetes

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 | General Practice

GPs in the Mid West have responded angrily to a unilateral decision by the Health Service Executive to begin screening pregnant women for diabetes in GP surgeries rather than hospital antenatal clinics, where this has traditionally been performed. Limerick GP... Read more

Doctors offered investment in plush Parisian district

Ian McGuinness | 03 August 2007 | General Practice

Irish Medical Organisation Financial Services (IMOFS) has offered doctors a property investment in an area commonly referred to as the ‘Kensington of Paris’. IMOFS said the location of the building (92-94 Avenue Paul Doumer, 75016 Paris) is within the 16th... Read more

Minister urges healthcare staff to brush up on hygiene standards

Greg Baxter | 03 August 2007 | Hospital Medicine

The Minister for Health has called on healthcare staff to start taking hygiene standards seriously. “There is a huge lack of knowledge among healthcare workers about hand washing,” she said. Minister Mary Harney, speaking at the launch of a Health... Read more

UK: Sexual health clinics lack data

Emer Mullins | 03 August 2007 | Foreign News

Clinics for people with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are unable to treat patients properly because they don’t have the right information, according to the Independent newspaper. It cited the UK’s Healthcare Commission pointing out that gaps in data made it... Read more

UK: New health fears over big surge in autism

Emer Mullins | 03 August 2007 | Foreign News

The number of children in Britain with autism is far higher than previously thought, The Observer newspaper reported. The newspaper said a study, as yet unpublished, shows that as many as one in 58 children may have some form of... Read more

Australia: Prejudice against overseas doctors

Emer Mullins | 03 August 2007 | Foreign News

Following the recent arrest of a Queensland-based overseas trained doctor in connection with foiled terror attacks planned for London and Glasgow early in July, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) said it was concerned about a potential backlash... Read more

Egypt: Ban on female genital mutilation

Emer Mullins | 03 August 2007 | Foreign News

Egypt is to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM), rescinding a provision that allowed the practice to be performed by qualified physicians in exceptional cases, according to BBC News. About 6,000 girls undergo genital mutilation daily, the BBC said, citing World... Read more