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News: January 2008

A case of optimism in obstetrics

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine, Interviews

People may be sick of reading about the problems in the health service - especially, of late, problems in women’s health services - but for the medical personnel trying to wade through the problems and simply do their job every... Read more

Beacon application for cross-country expansion

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Planning and Development, Private Healthcare

Specific details contained in three planning applications for co-located hospitals, which were submitted by Beacon Medical Limited, have been published by local authorities. At the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle, the company has applied to Limerick County Council for permission... Read more

No consolations for child patients

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Health Management

A child or adolescent was admitted to an adult psychiatric facility every two days, on average, between the beginning of November 2006 and the end of December last year. Why is this happening? The answer is simply because there are... Read more

Temple Street gets permission for clinic

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Planning and Development

Temple Street Hospital has been granted permission to build a new two-storey outpatients clinic, but first it will have to pay almost €153,000 to Dublin City Council before it can begin construction. The hospital applied to the local authority for... Read more

Staff should get four payments per patient

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

Forty-two radiographers at University College Hospital, Galway, should receive more money for each scannogram they do on a patient, the Labour Court has said. The Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) represented the workers and argued that the radiographers... Read more

It's company policy: equality issues

Ed Madden | 25 January 2008 | Medico-Legal

In September 2005, two women were among a number of work colleagues who attended a post-conference dinner at a venue in Sligo. They sat opposite each other at a long table at which there were a number of other fellow... Read more

Enzyme test praise from Cancer Research Ireland

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Research and Education

The new test for breast cancer developed in St Vincent’s University Hospital and UCD in Dublin may spare thousands of women the often needless trauma and expense of chemotherapy. According to Dr Patrick Corley, from Cancer Research Ireland, which part-funded... Read more

Hear hear: the listening skills factor

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Research and Education

New research from the US has found that cancer doctors, given the opportunity, are highly unlikely to express empathy to patients, suggesting that they can do more to improve quality of life for the people they treat. And it has... Read more

Huge increase in children's beds

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Health Management

The number of child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient beds is in the process of being expanded from 12 to 70, the Health Service Executive has said. The lack of such inpatient beds has been a contentious issue because, as a... Read more

Low awareness of cancer vaccine

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Public Health

Less than a third of Irish women know a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer exists, according to Dr Tracey Murray, medical spokesperson with the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA). Dr Murray was speaking during a campaign to raise awareness of... Read more

Scans not examined by doctors

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A lack of doctors trained in the provision of obstetric ultrasounds means pregnant women do not always have their scans overseen by a clinician, according to a leading Irish obstetrician who has specialised in pre-natal screening. Prof Fergal Malone, from... Read more

Attack is reminder

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The violent attack on a consultant psychiatrist in Limerick last week is an “unhappy reminder” of the improvements needed in mental health services, particularly forensic services, according to the Irish College of Psychiatrists’ public education spokesperson, Dr Rachael Cullivan. Dr... Read more

Ruling aids HSE case

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Health Service Executive Employers Agency (HSE EA) has said a Labour Court ruling on overtime helps its position on rosters in the NCHD contract talks. Mr Brendan Mulligan, Assistant Chief Executive Officer in Industrial Relations with the Agency said:... Read more

St Vincent's gets planning go-ahead

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Planning and Development

A huge inpatient building at St Vincent’s University Hospital has been given planning permission by Dublin City Council, in the face of objections from local residents. The hospital was given permission for an eight-storey building, five storeys of which will... Read more

'Crunch week' for consultants

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) is prepared to continue consultant contract talks despite reports that management has called this week “crunch week”. IHCA Secretary General Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick told Irish Medical Times that while the Association urgently wants an... Read more

56-hour week for NCHDs

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Medical Organisation may be on the brink of pulling out of NCHD contract talks with the National Implementation Group (NIG), which is responsible for implementing the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). It has also emerged that, in such... Read more

Lack of funding behind MRSA infection rates

Mary Anne Kenny | 25 January 2008 | Public Health

A lack of funding is still hindering progress at a national level regarding methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection rates. As the HSE launched a public information campaign last week to promote the importance of hand hygiene in preventing hospital-acquired infections,... Read more

Prof Winston to speak in TCD on human ageing and reproduction

Sandra Ryan | 25 January 2008 | Research and Education

Leading scientist Prof Robert Winston- best known for his BBC TV series The Human Body and for his work in the ‘70s on IVF treatment- will speak at a special lecture in Trinity College Dublin on ageing and reproduction on... Read more

First-ever health research round table launched

Terence Cosgrave | 25 January 2008 | Public Health, Research and Education

The first-ever health research roundtable was launched this week by the Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive, Prof Brendan Drumm. The Health Research Roundtable will take place this week at The Wilton Room, IDA Ireland, from 4-7 p.m and... Read more

The invisible cost of chasing debts

Barry O'Brien | 25 January 2008 | Features

As a non-clinical partner in a general practice, I seem to have a slightly different perspective on how we should deal with patients who don’t settle their bill directly after their consultation. Maybe it’s a result of a decade in... Read more

Financial setback for suicide prevention

Mary Anne Kenny | 25 January 2008 | Health Management

The national office charged with tackling suicide must do so without additional funding this year. Last Wednesday, the Health Service Executive told the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) that it must make do with €4.5 million, the same amount... Read more

Bug resistance worries rise

Mary Anne Kenny | 25 January 2008 | Features

Although there have been developments in terms of establishing surveillance programmes to reduce the numbers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in Irish hospitals, a lack of resources and a paucity of laboratory staff hinder the amount of progress that... Read more

France: Haul of 224,000 fake anti-impotence pills

Emer Mullins | 25 January 2008 | Foreign News

French customs officials intercepted a shipment of 224,000 fake Viagra and Cialis anti-impotence pills worth €2.4 million, according to a statement from the Budget Ministry, reported by Reuters. The copies of the best-selling drugs were found on December 18 during... Read more

Top EU marks for patient user-friendly procedures

Emer Mullins | 25 January 2008 | Foreign News

Denmark’s healthcare system is the best in the European Union when it comes to patient rights, providing information and user-friendliness, according to the annual Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) assessment of EU countries, the Copenhagen Post reported. The country’s healthcare... Read more

Kazakhstan: Health work ban after HIV child neglect

Emer Mullins | 25 January 2008 | Foreign News

Three health workers in Kazygurt, Kazakhstan, were sentenced to prison recently after being convicted of criminal negligence following a HIV outbreak among a group of children who received blood transfusions in regional hospitals, Interfax News Agency reported. According to the... Read more

'Crunch week' for consultants

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) is prepared to continue consultant contract talks despite reports that management has called this week “crunch week”. IHCA Secretary General Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick told Irish Medical Times that while the Association urgently wants an... Read more

Increased numbers but reduced beds

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Health Management

Prof Brendan Drumm believes a medical assessment unit (MAU) could be operating at every hospital in the country by the end of this year if there is sufficient co-operation from staff at those hospitals. MAUs– sometimes called medical admission units–... Read more

Privacy and security top the Health Information Bill agenda

Ian McGuinness | 25 January 2008 | Information Technology, Regulation

A public consultation process about the possible contents of the Health Information Bill is due to begin in March or April, Irish Medical Times understands. The Bill, which will deal with the way information is used in the health sector,... Read more

Plan to reduce beds questioned

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Health Management

One of the keys to the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) plans to dramatically reduce the number of total inpatient beds by 2020 has been called into question by the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM). Medical assessment units (MAUs) have... Read more

Prostate test to be available soon in US

Greg Baxter | 25 January 2008 | Public Health, Research and Education

A controversial new test to identify a man’s susceptibility to prostate cancer will be available shortly in the US. The test, which will be offered by ProActive Genetics for US$300, will give men of any age the opportunity to see... Read more

Court rules on medical records’ confidentiality

Ed Madden | 18 January 2008 | Medico-Legal

In 2005, a 34-year-old man was charged before the Crown Court at Stafford with sexual offences against a 14-year-old schoolgirl, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act, 2003. During 2005, the girl took overdoses of paracetamol and ibuprofen on three occasions,... Read more

Changing days for psychiatric sector

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Interviews

St Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin is to launch a new strategy this spring, its newly-appointed Medical Director has revealed. While Dr Jim Lucey did not want to give specific details of the strategy at present, he explained that it will... Read more

Bags packed, but nowhere to go

18 January 2008 | Research and Education

This year, the annual number of GP training places was due to increase to 150, as initially planned by the Department of Health since 2006. But because it will not be funded this year, the number of places available will... Read more

UK: NHS in 'new age' makeover

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a new National Health Service programme to screen patients for the warning signs of many fatal diseases and promised to move the NHS into a “new age” by offering a service more like... Read more

Germany: E-health from Asklepios Future Hospital leaders

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News

Berlin will host a major two-day healthcare technology conference on January 28 and 29 next, where management leaders from the fields of business, technology, medicine and healthcare will meet to discuss electronic-health solutions in telemedicine, hospital processes, home care and... Read more

Belgium: Union-wide health care slips further down EU agenda

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News, Regulation

The EU has delayed the release of controversial proposals that would have made it easier for patients to travel abroad within the union for healthcare, BBC news has reported. It cited a European Commission spokesman who said the delay was... Read more

Switzerland: Home treatment of pneumonia just as effective

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News

The treatment of children with severe pneumonia at home is just as effective as treating them in hospitals, a new study reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found. The study results could significantly change the way the illness... Read more

China: Healthcare issue in regions tops citizens' wish list

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News

The rising cost of healthcare topped Chinese citizens’ concerns in a government survey reported by the Associated Press news agency shortly after Beijing announced plans to reform the country’s medical system. The study, by the National Bureau of Statistics, covered... Read more

Nepal: Radio programme tackles HIV taboo

Emer Mullins | 18 January 2008 | Foreign News

In a break with social taboos in conservative Nepal, a radio programme on safe sex is spreading awareness against HIV/AIDS and offers life-saving advice to young people who are vulnerable to the disease, Reuters reported. The weekly, hour-long programme, titled... Read more

Child admitted every 48 hours to adult care unit

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Public Health, Regulation

One child has been admitted to adult psychiatric institutions every two days, on average, since the Mental Health Act became fully operational in November 2006. The latest statistics from the Mental Health Commission show that between the beginning of November... Read more

Co-located hospital plans hit by insurers

Sandra Ryan | 18 January 2008 | Private Healthcare

The VHI has been accused of jeopardising the government’s co-located hospital plan by refusing to commit to providing insurance cover to the new private hospitals. VIVAS Health CEO Mr Oliver Tattan said the building and funding of the private hospitals... Read more

Health spend totals €40m below budget

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Health Management

An extra €1.72 billion was issued under the three votes covered by the Department of Health and Children last year in comparison to 2006, according to latest government figures. Statistics carried in the 4 January, 2008, issue of Irish Oifigiúil... Read more

Body farm for human decomposition tests

Thecla Scully | 18 January 2008 | Features, Research and Education

In the sweltering heat of a Tennessee summer, a young man prises open the boot of an abandoned car and begins to photograph the dismembered corpse that lies within. He collects a number of the animal life happily feeding there.... Read more

Team placement for PET/CT scanner installation

Greg Baxter | 18 January 2008 | Planning and Development

A team has been created to oversee the introduction of PET/CT scanner at Cork University Hospital (CUH). The hospital is awaiting approval for planning permission for a building to house the scanner, a HSE spokesman told Irish Medical Times. IMT... Read more

Boost for list of card holders

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Public Health

Seventy-eight thousand more people had medical cards at the start of this year, compared to 12 months ago, according to the latest figures available. Most of the additional cards in circulation at the beginning of this month, when compared to... Read more

Empathy with secret addicts

Derbhile Dromey | 18 January 2008 | Features

The recent spate of cocaine-related deaths was a spark for fevered media coverage, portraying a country in the grip of a cocaine epidemic. There is no doubt that cocaine abuse is rampant in Ireland. However, it is also a hidden... Read more

Norovirus winter vomit bug hits three-year high

Mary Anne Kenny | 18 January 2008 | Public Health

The number of cases of norovirus, or winter vomiting disease, has substantially risen since mid-November, according to the latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC). The centre revealed that the number of cases now being reported is the... Read more

Opposition calls for a dedicated CF service

Greg Baxter | 18 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine, Public Health

Pressure on the Government to build a dedicated cystic fibrosis (CF) unit with isolation rooms at St Vincent’s University Hospital is continuing to mount. Fine Gael Health Spokesperson, Dr James Reilly TD, has called delays in the creation of such... Read more

Bursary reaches €75,000 for cancer society research

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Research and Education

The research division of the Irish Cancer Society is currently offering research fellowships that are worth up to €75,000 a year to the successful applicants. Cancer Research Ireland is now calling on scientists, clinicians, nurses or paramedics who want to... Read more

Commission move on patient information

Mary Anne Kenny | 18 January 2008 | Regulation

A new European Commission report has been launched which advances debate on patient access to information about their medicines. The Report on Current Practices with Regard to the Provision of Information to Patients on Medicinal Products has been welcomed by... Read more

Budget link to virus spread

Greg Baxter | 18 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has welcomed what it calls an admission by the Health Service Executive (HSE) that its budget cuts have worsened overcrowding in the country’s emergency departments (EDs). IAEM secretary Mr James Binchy said it... Read more

Land sale boosts Royal College’s year-end accounts

Sandra Ryan | 18 January 2008 | Research and Education

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) had an income of over €100 million in 2007, according to its annual President’s Report for last year. The College had a surplus last year of €16 million, due to the sale... Read more

South Pole first for consultant

Sandra Ryan | 18 January 2008 |

Dr Clare O’Leary - already the first Irish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest - has now become the first Irish woman to trek to the South Pole. The consultant gastroenterologist from Cork was a member of the... Read more

Expansion of stroke service assessment

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A rapid-access service for patients suffering from transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) has been established at the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar. The service, which began late last year, is based at the hospital’s medical assessment unit and runs from 9am to... Read more

College lecture-hall 'intrusion'

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Planning and Development

The College of Anaesthetists has succeeded in overturning a decision by Dublin City Council that would have prevented it from building a lecture theatre and other educational facilities at its 18th-century building in the city centre. The College applied to... Read more

Director’s faith in a future of improved tribunal efficiency

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | Public Health, Regulation

Some of the initial problems associated with the introduction of mental health tribunals in November 2006 are starting to subside, according to the newly-appointed Medical Director of St Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin. Dr Jim Lucey said: “My impression is that... Read more

Renal strategy dead and buried

Greg Baxter | 18 January 2008 | Public Health

The National Renal Strategy has been “buried” and dialysis patients outside Dublin face the same or worse levels of service now than they did a year ago, the CEO of the Irish Kidney Association told Irish Medical Times. Mr Mark... Read more

GPs' lists closing due to workload

Ian McGuinness | 18 January 2008 | General Practice

GPs throughout the Republic are closing their public and private lists because of the shortage of general practitioners and the increasing workload faced by those in the sector, the Irish Medical Organisation has said. Dr Martin Daly, Chairman of the... Read more

New Irish cancer test available in US but not yet Ireland

Sandra Ryan | 18 January 2008 | Public Health, Research and Education

It may be years before a new test for breast cancer developed at St Vincent’s University Hospital and the Conway Institute in UCD is available in Ireland, according to Professor Joe Duffy, who led a team of researchers in developing... Read more

Private care home plans halted by ‘overbearing impact’ assessment

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Planning and Development, Private Healthcare

Touchstone’s plans to develop its next primary care centre in Dublin received a serious setback after An Bord Pleanála refused permission for it to proceed with the development. A company called HHN Developments Drimnagh Limited applied to Dublin City Council... Read more

Cultural issues at care home led to misconduct dismissal

Ed Madden | 11 January 2008 | Medico-Legal

In January 2003, Ms Ann (not her real name) joined the nursing staff of Beeches Home– a 64 bed residential facility for elderly patients. She had trained in Botswana and had worked as a registered nurse there for some twelve... Read more

GP assistants- employees or self-employed?

Barry O'Brien | 11 January 2008 | General Practice

It’s one of those questions that crops up time and again and I’ve yet to hear the definitive answer (probably because one does not exist). More and more frequently, general practices are availing of the services of one or more... Read more

An Apgar approach to assessment

Nollaig Rowan | 11 January 2008 | Features

On a crisp March day in 1986, while listening to the one o’clock news, a pregnant woman’s waters broke and she made the short journey from Glasnevin to the Rotunda hospital. By four o’clock she had delivered twin boys, nine... Read more

Fewer Italians seek medical care abroad say statistics

Emer Mullins | 11 January 2008 | Foreign News

Under current proposals, the European Commission wants people to have the right to health care across the EU if they are entitled to receive it in their own country. But a report from the BBC citing Italian government statistics shows... Read more

France: Smoking ban in full effect

Emer Mullins | 11 January 2008 | Foreign News

The smoking ban in France, which came into limited effect in February 2007, has been extended to bars, clubs, restaurants and cafes as of January 2, 2008. According to the Associated Press news agency, people caught lighting up inside face... Read more

UK: Pathologists warn on transportation of bodies

Emer Mullins | 11 January 2008 | Foreign News

The shortage of pathologists in the UK is leading to the unlawful transportation of children’s bodies, according to the Royal College of Pathologists and the British Medical Association. Members of both groups claimed that the 1988 Coroners’ Act allowed for... Read more

Canada: First in-depth look at doctors' health

Emer Mullins | 11 January 2008 | Foreign News

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is planning to launch a spring survey among the country’s doctors in the first comprehensive analysis of doctors’ health. The Canada Physician Health Study will be conducted for the CMA by a research team led... Read more

Local care to replace hospital treatments

Greg Baxter | 11 January 2008 | General Practice

All of the 87 primary care teams created in 2007 will be holding clinical meetings by the end of 2008, according to a target in the Health Service Executive’s national service plan for 2008. Less than half of the 87... Read more

Nursing hospital in 100-bed boost

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Planning and Development

A new 100-bed nursing unit will be built in north Dublin, after the local council gave permission for it to proceed. Dublin City Council granted permission, just before Christmas, to St Joseph’s Hospital in Raheny for the development. The two-storey... Read more

Day care only for new inpatients

Greg Baxter | 11 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive wants to increase the ratio of day-case to inpatient procedures by 10 per cent, according to the HSE’s 2008 service plan. About 1.18 million inpatient and day-case procedures are planned for 2008, according to the HSE.... Read more

Service staff in row over curtain removal

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

A row over hospital curtains at Mallow General Hospital has ended up in the Labour Court. The Health Service Executive South and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) clashed over who should remove 90 curtains, two times a year,... Read more

Consultation process delays allocation of assault funding

Sandra Ryan | 11 January 2008 |

Funding promised to rape crisis centres around the country in 2006 has still not been allocated by the Department of Health, it has emerged. According to the Health Service Executive (HSE), which was responding to a query made late last... Read more

New sick doctor chair

Sandra Ryan | 11 January 2008 | General Practice

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) has appointed a new chair of their Sick Doctor Scheme, after the retirement of Dr Aiden Meade, who has worked on the project since it began in 1985. His replacement is Dublin GP... Read more

Block on funds for GP training scheme

Sandra Ryan | 11 January 2008 | General Practice, Research and Education

There will be no increase in GP training places this year, despite repeated promises by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide funding to expand the current intake of 121 to 150 in 2008. The steering group on the issue,... Read more

GPs merge for care centre

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | General Practice, Planning and Development

A four-storey primary care centre in Mallow, which will cost more than €20 million to build, has been granted planning permission by Cork County Council. Three general practices in the town applied for permission, which was granted in mid December,... Read more

Seven donors at 'advanced' stage

Greg Baxter | 11 January 2008 | Public Health

Beaumont Hospital’s Living Donor Programme is set to significantly increase the number of transplants this year, a spokesman for the hospital told Irish Medical Times. The programme, which was formally established in 2007, will expand operations with the addition of... Read more

Health Partnership looks for middle ground as base as hospital location

Sandra Ryan | 11 January 2008 |

The report on the location of the new hospital for the north east will be further delayed this year, as the Department of Health has deferred the decision in order to consider locating the hospital to where it could serve... Read more

IMO sets its terms for pilots roll-out

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Irish Medical Organisation is resisting the roll-out of European Working Time Directive pilots in hospitals, health service management has claimed. Mr Brendan Mulligan, Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Industrial Relations with the Health Service Executive Employers Agency, said there... Read more

Recruitment urge for senior decision-makers

Greg Baxter | 11 January 2008 |

The Health Service Executive will not reach its target of an 11 per cent reduction in outpatient attendances without the appointment of new consultants, the assistant secretary general of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned. Mr Martin Varley... Read more

Indemnity loophole covered by interim insurance scheme

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Regulation

Consultants working for the Irish Blood Transfusion Service are to be covered by an interim insurance system, after it was realised there was a loophole in the Clinical Indemnity Scheme. A spokesperson for the service said that consultants working for... Read more

'Final throw of dice' says IHCA in talks on consultant contract

Greg Baxter & Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

Consultant contract talks will resume for a fortnight in what the Secretary General of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has called a “final throw of the dice”. Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick said the IHCA’s negotiating group will meet this week... Read more

HSE unions asked to extend day

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

Every trade union in the health service has been contacted for talks on an extended working day, which could run from 8 am to 8 pm. Mr Brendan Mulligan, Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Industrial Relations with the HSE Employers... Read more

Touchstone plans rocked

Ian McGuinness | 11 January 2008 | General Practice, Planning and Development

The first purpose built, Touchstone model, primary care centre in Dublin has been refused permission by An Bord Pleanála. A Touchstone primary care centre has been operating in Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, since 2004 but it was put into a building... Read more

Medical students need not be 'perfect' anymore

Greg Baxter | 04 January 2008 | Research and Education

Aspiring medical students no longer need to achieve perfect scores on their Leaving Certificate exam following the announcement of major reforms in the education of medical students. The sweeping changes mean more students than ever before will be able to... Read more

ED charge should not be applied to emergency patients

Greg Baxter | 04 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

It is unfair to increase emergency department (ED) fees for patients who attend the seven EDs that were deemed unfit for purpose by the Emergency Department Task Force Report, the Secretary of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine has told... Read more

Coombe Master’s criticism rejected

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has defended itself after criticism from the Master of the country’s busiest maternity hospital, Dr Chris Fitzpatrick, which claimed an emergency request for more space and resources received no response from the HSE. Dr Fitzpatrick,... Read more

Serious concerns on herbal ecstasy

Ian McGuinness | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

There is no guarantee that herbal ecstasy and other such products are safe — just because they are purchased over the counter, the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Pat Carey, has warned. In... Read more

Genetics student takes education matter to the European Court

Ed Madden | 04 January 2008 | Medico-Legal

Having completed her secondary education in Germany, Ms Rhiannon Morgan moved to the UK where she worked for a year as an au pair. On 20 September 2004, she began studies in applied genetics at the University of the West... Read more

BreastCheck in Cork/Galway

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

The extension of the national breast cancer screening service (BreastCheck) has commenced on schedule, with two new units opened in Galway and Cork that will screen about 140,000 women for breast cancer. The BreastCheck Southern Unit is located in Cork... Read more

Portlaoise women seek legal advice on diagnoses

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | Medico-Legal

A number of the women involved in the cancer crisis at Portlaoise General Hospital have sought legal advice to determine if they have a case against the Health Service Executive (HSE) for the mis-diagnoses that took place, Irish Medical Times... Read more

Doctors exonerated

Greg Baxter | 04 January 2008 | Regulation

The Medical Council considers the three obstetricians it found guilty of professional misconduct exonerated, following the finding by Mr Justice Kelly that the Fitness to Practice Committee had applied the wrong standard in reaching its decision. The Council is making... Read more

India urgently needs more doctors

Emer Mullins | 04 January 2008 | Foreign News

The Indian healthcare industry will need to acquire 1.4 million more doctors and over three million more nurses by 2017 if the country has to meet even the healthcare standards of countries such as Brazil, Russia and China, The Times... Read more

UK: Anti-‘superbug’ pyjamas go on sale in M&S stores

Emer Mullins | 04 January 2008 | Foreign News

A leading British retailer is now selling silver-lined pyjamas designed to protect against the hospital ‘superbug’ MRSA, according to reports on the BBC. Marks and Spencer is trialling the £45 ‘Sleep Safe’ pyjamas at 100 stores in what has been... Read more

USA: Edwards proposes policy of mandatory insurance

Emer Mullins | 04 January 2008 | Foreign News

Presidential candidate and former Democratic Senator, John Edwards of North Carolina, has said that under his proposed healthcare plan, US residents who could afford to pay for health insurance could have their wages garnished or tax refunds withheld if they... Read more

Government medical card figures have proven to be way off the mark

Ian McGuinness | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

The Government has got its figures seriously wrong on medical cards. The latest statistics, issued December 2007, from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS), show an upward trend once more for full medical cards and the doctor-only ones. However, there... Read more

Healing the hurt of the homeless

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

Last year 55 people died in Ireland simply because they were homeless. Some were older and suffering from ill-health but the majority had nothing wrong with them except having nowhere to live. In 2006 the Simon Communities of Ireland (SCI)... Read more

Medical cards up by 8,100 in one month

Ian McGuinness | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

More than an extra 8,100 people had a full medical card in December 2007 than in November last year, according to the latest statistics from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service. The increase in this type of card was nearly 10... Read more

Pharmacists stop GP plans

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | General Practice

A group of GPs have been stopped in their plans to co-locate a pharmacy in their practice after objections from local pharmacists in Tralee. The doctors’ initial planning application for the development was approved — until an appeal to An... Read more

Surgeon pioneers hip re-surfacing technique worldwide

Ian McGuinness | 04 January 2008 | Research and Education

An Irish consultant orthopaedic surgeon has demonstrated a hip resurfacing technique that he has pioneered to over 60 surgeons across the world via a satellite link. Mr Tadhg O’Sullivan, who practises at the Whitfield Sports and Orthopaedic Clinic in Waterford,... Read more

Report due in late 2008

Sandra Ryan | 04 January 2008 | Public Health

A report which will allow services to be developed for children needing end-of-life care will not be published until later this year, according to the Department of Health. In a response to queries about the development of a dedicated children’s... Read more

HSE move in talks

Ian McGuinness | 04 January 2008 | Industrial Relations

Health employers have agreed to address locum cover for NCHDs and the working hours of pregnant junior doctors in the plenary session of contact talks, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). Dr John Morris, Chairman of the IMO NCHD... Read more