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News: February 2008

€245 per hour pay rise

Gary Culliton | 29 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

A leading health economist has criticised the recently-agreed consultants’ contract, saying that it will not result in any extra hours being worked or in any extra productivity, and that the impact on patients will be a negative one. Under the... Read more

Cord-blood stem cells offer hope for future treatments

Gary Culliton | 29 February 2008 | Features

Gary Culliton speaks to Prof Colin McGuckin about the many therapeutic uses for cord-blood stem cells A ‘bubble child’ from Northern Ireland has received a cord blood transplant at a facility run by Ballymena-born Prof Colin McGuckin in Newcastle, England,... Read more

GPs to get the pharmacists' treatment

Sandra Ryan | 29 February 2008 | General Practice

GPs will be treated the same as pharmacists when it comes to deciding on changes to their fee structure, according to Mr Paddy Burke, Assistant National Director of the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, who has confirmed this week that the... Read more

E-health: Virtual visits prove popular

29 February 2008 | Information Technology

A growing trend in the United States is an e-healthcheck, where online doctor visits are becoming more common and are now covered by insurance There are many reasons why a visit to the doctor’s surgery could actually worsen your health.... Read more

Smoking message fails to reach poor

Terence Cosgrave | 28 February 2008 | Public Health

Health promotion in Ireland is less effective because it it is conceived and aimed at the wrong groups in society, according to one of the authors of a new report which details the extent of Ireland’s respiratory disease. The INHALE... Read more

UK doctors urged to issue 'well notes'

Mary Anne Kenny | 28 February 2008 | Features

Mary Anne Kenny looks at a proposed pilot scheme for the UK, which would see changes to the GP sick-certificate system Whose responsibility is it to monitor employees’ sick leave – bosses, patients or doctors themselves? The UK’s Health Secretary... Read more

Neurology is set to rocket

Mary Anne Kenny | 28 February 2008 | Public Health

The number of people affected by neurological conditions could rocket to over 800,000 in ten year’s time and put considerable strain on neurological services, according to a report by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The report The Strategic Review of... Read more

RCSI publish guidelines for obesity surgery

Greg Baxter | 28 February 2008 | Public Health

All specialists offering weight-reduction surgery for the morbidly obese should establish a patient database, the The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has urged. It has published its first ever guidelines for delivering obesity surgery, which are ‘overdue’, said... Read more

Hospitals criticised for not providing cord cells

Gary Culliton | 28 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Irish maternity hospitals have been criticised by a leading stem cell researcher for refusing access to babies’ umbilical cords. The hospitals’ stated reason for refusing access is that the cords are stored at a private facility. But Ballymena-born Prof Colin... Read more

Gut reactions to asthma treatment

Gary Culliton | 27 February 2008 | Features

Gary Culliton speaks with Dr James Martin of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Clinic, UCC, on his research into the immunology of asthma It is increasingly the view in Europe — more even than in North America — that probiotics and the... Read more

New survey needed

Gary Culliton | 27 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A new quantitative survey in 2009 of a larger sample of migrant nurses is to follow up on the issues raised in the recent RCSI study. The aim is to profile the skills, qualifications and the stage in career of... Read more

Cancer, asthma etc. should be treated like infectious diseases

Greg Baxter | 27 February 2008 | Health Management

Diagnoses of cancer, asthma, motor neurone diseases and other conditions should be treated in the same way as diagnoses of infectious diseases, with full backgrounds of patients being placed on a national register, according to a spokesperson for the Irish... Read more

Codeine warning to breastfeeding mothers

27 February 2008 | Health Management

The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has issued a warning to doctors and pharmacists about the dangers of their patients using codeine-containing painkillers when breastfeeding. “Codeine should not be used by breastfeeding mothers unless prescribed by a physician,” states the IMB,... Read more

Galway HSE to acquire security services

27 February 2008 | Health Management

Security services worth €400,000 are to be acquired by Health Service Executive’s Primary, Community and Continuing Care section in Galway. The services are to be provided at various buildings and locations in the city and county, according to the tender... Read more

Healthlink service grows

Gary Culliton | 27 February 2008 | General Practice

There has been a 50 per cent rise in the number of doctors using the Healthlink service with 1,307 doctors now signed up to the HSE-funded project, compared to 873 last year. And the service is now being used by... Read more

Further NTPF contract for Galway

Gary Culliton | 27 February 2008 | Features

Gary Culliton examines how the NTPF is tackling one of the biggest issues in relation to waiting lists: getting the initial consultation The Galway Clinic has been contracted to carry out a further 2,000 outpatient consultations – including ENT and... Read more

HSE set to announce location of new hospital

Sandra Ryan | 27 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is expected to announce the location of the new regional hospital in the northeast in coming weeks, almost four months after the original announcement was to be made. Irish Medical Times understands that Ardee and... Read more

Approval for new Carlow centre

Ian McGuinness | 27 February 2008 | General Practice

Touchstone Healthcare’s plans for a five-storey primary care building in Carlow town have been granted planning permission, although the decision has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. The application was submitted to Carlow Town Council in August last year and... Read more

GPs are providing services at a loss

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | General Practice

Ian McGuinness outlines some how doctors are providing treatments and diagnostics at a considerable financial loss to themselves Every year, details of what GPs earn via the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (formerly the GMS) are published — and rightly so,... Read more

Data from over 170,000 IBTS blood-donors stolen

Sandra Ryan | 26 February 2008 | Health Management

The Data Protection Com-missioner should conduct an audit of security measures in place to protect private information given by people to State bodies, after a laptop containing personal information on over 170,000 people who have donated blood to the Irish... Read more

HSE reasons for budget cuts at Mallow Hospital ‘misleading’

26 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Information given by the HSE to explain recent budget cuts at Mallow General Hospital (MGH) is “misleading”, said Deputy Sean Sherlock (Lab-Cork East), who added the hospital’s budget was cut by e571,233 for 2008 due to the HSE’s negative casemix... Read more

No funding for research in UK

26 February 2008 | Research and Education

A request for the Govern-ment to fund research in the UK aimed at helping people in Ireland with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy has been denied, as the Irish State cannot fund research abroad, according to Minister of State at the Department... Read more

Progress on hospital co-location

26 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, told Labour health spokesperson Deputy Jan O’Sullivan last week (Lab-Limerick East) that progress on the Government’s hospital co-location project was continuing. Waterford Regional Hospital, Cork University Hospital, Limerick Regional Hospital, Sligo Regional Hospital,... Read more

New UK survey reveals teenagers’ health concerns

26 February 2008 | Foreign News

A survey of 153 teenagers aged between 14-19 in the UK has revealed that the most important health issues among more than 70 per cent are body odour, self-esteem, acne/spots, nutrition/diet and contraception. Young people do not view alcohol, drugs... Read more

Occupation can dictate illnesses

26 February 2008 | Foreign News

A survey published in the Medical Journal of Australia found that some two-thirds of more than 4,200 workers aged between 45 and 64 had a medical condition. It showed that managers are less likely to have cancer, while shop assistants... Read more

WHO appoints malaria envoy

26 February 2008 | Foreign News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed its first global envoy for malaria control, Ray Chambers. “We are at a pivotal moment in the fight against malaria,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General. “We now have the tools to stop... Read more

Obesity ‘requires climate plan’

26 February 2008 | Foreign News

Obesity needs to be tackled in the same way as climate change, a top nutritional scientist has said. BBC News reported that the chairman of the International Obesity Taskforce wants world leaders to agree a global pact to ensure that... Read more

European Court rules against nursing home

Ed Madden, BL | 26 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling on a case brought by the son of an elderly woman who disappeared from a nursing home in Bulgaria In May 1994, Mrs Stoyanova, who was then... Read more

One small step or one giant leap towards access to medicines for all?

Gemma O'Farrell | 26 February 2008 | Features

Gemma O'Farrell wonders if intellectual property provisions contained in free-trade agreements will undermine WTO attempts to solve the problem of providing universal access to medicines On 30 November 2007, Peter Mandelson, the EU’s Trade Commissioner, announced that the EU has... Read more

Medical Council still accepting submissions

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

The Medical Council is still willing to accept submissions on the review of its ethical guidelines, even though the official date for such proposals has past. Mr William Kennedy, the Council’s Legal Advisor and Head of Professional Standards, told Irish... Read more

No details given on GP services tender

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | General Practice

The Health Service Executive has refused to give further details of a tender that it recently issued for the provision of general practitioner consultancy services to its Primary Care Transformation Programme. The HSE said: “This is a live tender and... Read more

ICGP AGM to take place in Galway

26 February 2008 | Research and Education

The 2008 Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) AGM will take place from Saturday/Sunday 17/18 May in the Radisson Hotel, Galway. The keynote session will focus on the ICGP Strategic Plan 2008-2013. The Foundation Lecture will take place on Saturday... Read more

Three-day mental health awareness course

26 February 2008 | Research and Education

The National Learning Network is holding a three-day Mental Health Awareness course in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise on 12/13 March, targeted at anyone working with people who experience mental health difficulties. The focus of the course is on different approaches... Read more

Beaumont and RCSI settle their planning dispute on extension

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A planning row between the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Beaumont Hospital has been settled. Last March, the College applied to Dublin City Council for permission to build a four-storey extension to its Education and Research Centre, known... Read more

Tribunal revokes one in ten orders

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Nearly 11 per cent of all mental health tribunals held in January resulted in a patient’s involuntary admission order being revoked. The latest statistics from the Mental Health Commission show that 177 tribunal hearings were held last month and just... Read more

St John's friendliest hospital in Ireland

Sandra Ryan | 26 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Results from the country’s largest-ever patient satisfaction survey have revealed the five hospitals where patients believe doctors are friendliest — St John’s Hospital, Limerick; Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin; Temple Street Children’s Hospital; the Rotunda Hospital; and... Read more

Kilkenny dialysis clinic to be delayed

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

Plans for a renal dialysis clinic in Kilkenny have been delayed after a decision to grant planning permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Last August, Fresenius Medical Care (Ireland) Limited applied to Kilkenny Borough Council for permission to change... Read more

Dublin Bus seeks drugs testing body to monitor staff abuse

Ian McGuinness | 26 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Dublin Bus has introduced a drugs and alcohol policy for its workers and is looking for an organisation to collect and analyse the samples. Bus Atha Cliath put the service out for tender recently and stated that whoever wins the... Read more

Labour Court rules HSE must consult with unions

By Ian McGuinness | 25 February 2008 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive should not introduce any initiative similar to last year’s recruitment freeze unless it has fully consulted with trade unions, the Labour Court has recommended. The Court recently found that the HSE breached the social partnership agreement,... Read more

Tests costs GP €10,000

Ian McGuinness | 21 February 2008 | General Practice

A county Cork GP has said that by doing work in her surgery that should be performed in a hospital, she is paying out €10,000 per year.Dr Jacqui Glisson, who is based on the North Road in Castletownbere, told Irish... Read more

Mentally ill travel to UK for rehabilitation

Sandra Ryan | 21 February 2008 | Public Health

The Government is spending millions of euro sending severely mentally ill patients to the UK for rehabilitation due to a lack of facilities in Ireland, a number of psychiatrists have said. The authors of a report into rehabilitation services available... Read more

Need for 500 autism places in five years

Greg Baxter | 21 February 2008 | Public Health

One hundred new autism-dedicated residential places must be created each year for the next five years, if Ireland is to cope with an explosion in the number of autistic adults, the chief executive of the Autism Society of Ireland has... Read more

Anger over cuts in north-east

By Sandra Ryan | 20 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Over fifty consultants and GPs in the northeast — angry at the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) proposed service cutbacks in the area — have formed an advocacy group and are demanding the HSE consult with them over any changes in... Read more

Blackrock announces €100m expansion plans

By Sandra Ryan | 20 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

The Blackrock clinic has announced a five-year, €100 million expansion plan that will see a 42 per cent increase in beds at the private hospital, as well as two new operating theatres and a multi-story car park. The expansion will... Read more

New audit of rectal cancer surgery needed

Greg Baxter | 20 February 2008 | Public Health

The near-total absence of reliable outcome data from cancer surgery in Ireland will be addressed following a decision by the The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) to collaborate... Read more

Half of all new nurses come from outside EU

Greg Baxter | 20 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

More than half of all new entrants to the Irish nursing register in 2006 came from outside the European Union (EU), according to a new study from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). These nurses also did not... Read more

New addiction service is part of €300 investment

Ian McGuinness | 20 February 2008 | Public Health

St Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin announced this week it is to develop a new cocaine addiction programme over the next five years — as revealed last month by Irish Medical Times. The development is part of the psychiatric hospital’s €300... Read more

Eighty-three days of talking for contract

Ian McGuinness | 20 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Two thousand hours (or the equivalent of 83 days) were spent in consultant common contract negotiations by the end of last year, the Chief Executive of the Irish Medical Organisation has said. Mr George McNeice gave the figure in the... Read more

Bidders tender for Tallaght

Gary Culliton | 19 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

Invitations to tender for construction and operation of the Tallaght co-located hospital are due to issue this week. Tenders will be invited from two preferred bidders, Beacon Medical Group (BMG) and the Synchrony consortium, which won the co-location contract at... Read more

Proposed new Beacon hospital under threat

Gary Culliton | 19 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

The proposed new €160 million Beacon Medical Group Women’s, Children, and Maternity Hospital at Sandyford in Dublin faces considerable delays following a warning from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council that planning permission will not be granted for any major developments... Read more

Contract details to be complete by end of week

Ian McGuinness | 19 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Agreement on the consultant contract is not unravelling and it is expected that a composite document on its details will be completed by the end of this week, the Health Service Executive Employers Agency (HSE EA) has said. Mr Gerry... Read more

Online information portal re-vamped

19 February 2008 | Research and Education

The pharmaceutical industry has revamped its online clinical trials portal (www.ifpma.org/clinicaltrials) to help keep doctors up-to-date on new clinical trials. Doctors can now individualise the site with ‘MyPortal’, which allows users to record search criteria, to easily repeat searches and... Read more

New Irish office for Best Doctors

19 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Best Doctors has opened a new Irish office in Dublin as it seeks to expand the number of members here. Best Doctors, which is accessible through insurers and employers, allows its members to have their case reviewed by medical experts... Read more

Troubling questions on Neary's motives

Sandra Ryan | 19 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has been asked to include another 40 former patients of former obstetrician Dr Michael Neary in the redress scheme set up to compensate the women who suffered under his care. Two UK-based consultant obstetricians,... Read more

GP-only medical cards still falling well short of targets

Ian McGuinness | 19 February 2008 |

The number of patients holding a doctor-only medical card has fallen in 10 counties throughout the country within the last month. The latest figures from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service show that small losses were registered in: Dublin, Kildare, Longford,... Read more

HSE ‘box-ticking’ on primary care

Ian McGuinness | 19 February 2008 | General Practice

The Health Service Exec-utive is organising primary care teams on the north side of Dublin on the basis of where a doctor’s patients come from rather than on the location of the GP, a prominent family doctor has said. Dr... Read more

New skills lab for St James's

Ian McGuinness | 19 February 2008 | Planning and Development

St James’s Hospital is to build a clinical skills laboratory in the basement of its mortuary building. It was granted permission for the development last month by Dublin City Council and the plans show that three rooms, each with a... Read more

Committee reveals sell-off money trail

Ian McGuinness | 19 February 2008 | Features

Ian McGuinness attended a recent Dail committee meeting where the money raised from the sale of psychiatric hospital land was discussed. Anybody who assumed that money acquired via the sale of psychiatric buildings and lands would automatically be ploughed back... Read more

Medical advertising to be changed?

Gary Culliton | 19 February 2008 | Features

Gary Culliton reports on the upcoming changes to the Medical Council's Code of Ethics on advertising and how it will affect doctors The Medical Council’s Code of Ethics concerning advertisements is to be changed before the end of April, to... Read more

Czech patients are forced to pay for care

Emer Mullins | 19 February 2008 | Foreign News

Healthcare reforms introduced in the Czech Republic mean that patients have to pay fees from 1 January for certain services previously covered by insurance, the Prague Post reported. “When it comes to wasting healthcare funds, the Czechs are masters,” Health... Read more

Needles may not be needed for vaccines

19 February 2008 | Foreign News

Some vaccinations such as those being tested for HIV may no longer require the use of a needle, Swiss and European scientists have discovered. A new study has shown that aerosol vaccines could be particularly useful for immunisation programmes in... Read more

Harsh winter causing humanitarian crisis

19 February 2008 | Foreign News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Tajikistan is facing a growing humanitarian crisis and that the health of large parts of the population is already affected as the country struggles with a cold and energy emergency. Tajikistan, in... Read more

Osteoporosis Society 'may have to close'

Sandra Ryan | 19 February 2008 | Planning and Development

The Irish Osteoporosis Society (IOS) will be forced to close without more funding, according to Deputy James Bannon (FG Longford-Westmeath). Deputy Bannon asked the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Máire Hoctor (FF Tipperary North) to make... Read more

TD told: end patient contact

19 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The HSE has asked Deputy Joe Costello (Labour Dublin Central) to stop “unauthorised contact” with Mater Hospital patients, where he protests every Saturday over hospital conditions. “I received a letter from Phil O’Neill, HSE Head of Operations and Clinical Support,”... Read more

Review of PCT targets imminent

19 February 2008 | General Practice

The Health Service Executive (HSE) will this year conduct a review of its targets set for implementing 500 primary care teams around the country by 2011, according to the Minister for Health Mary Harney. Deputy Brian Hayes (FG Dublin South-West)... Read more

Taoiseach is quizzed on GMS pharmacy plans

19 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny questioned the Taoiseach last week about his contingency plans for the provision of medicines to people with medical cards, in the event of a withdrawal from the GMS by community pharmacists after 1 March. “There... Read more

Numbers sought on accidents due to illegal drugs

19 February 2008 | Public Health

Deputy John O’Mahony (FG Mayo) asked the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, if research has been carried out on the number of accidents that occurred causing death which could be clearly shown to be related to the taking... Read more

Write-off resulting from IBTS computer system

19 February 2008 | Health Management

Deputy James Bannon (FG Longford-Westmeath) asked the Minister for Health and Children the exact financial loss resulting from the abandonment of the Progresa computer system by the Irish Blood Transfusion Board (IBTS). “The Progesa Computer System in the IBTS has been... Read more

Costs of cigarette warnings ‘not established’

19 February 2008 | Public Health

Deputy Brian O’Shea (Labour Waterford) asked the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, the cost to the State of the recent High Court proceedings regarding the health warnings on cigarette packets sold here being published in Irish as well... Read more

Widower settles case against former WHB

Ed Madden BL | 17 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at the background to a case against the former Western Health Board following the death of a woman in hospital, where she had remained in a coma for 19 years On 22 January, 2008, Padraic Keane,... Read more

Non-EU doctors face discrimination

Ian McGuinness | 16 February 2008 | Features

Ian McGuinness talks Mr Syed Jaffrey about the discrimination some non EU consultants are experiencing from some institutions Non-European Union doctors still have grievances to air and many are the same ones that they have been complaining about for years.... Read more

All systems go for clinical support

16 February 2008 | Features

Clinical Decision Support Systems can be tailored to facilitate the many complexities of effective and efficient medical decision-making With the accelerating pace of today’s medical climate, healthcare practitioners are under increasing pressure to cope with the masses of medical information... Read more

E-health: All systems go for clinical support

15 February 2008 | Information Technology

Clinical Decision Support Systems can be tailored to facilitate the many complexities of effective and efficient medical decision-making With the accelerating pace of today’s medical climate, healthcare practitioners are under increasing pressure to cope with the masses of medical information... Read more

Smoking kills — across the world

Sandra Ryan | 15 February 2008 | Public Health

Sandra Ryan reports on a new WHO report that examines smoking habits and laws across the world that result in a death every six seconds Tobacco — or the ‘global agent of death’, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has... Read more

HSE plans 'fundamentally flawed'

Greg Baxter | 15 February 2008 | Interviews

Greg Baxter talks about plans for national AMAUs to Dr Bernard Silke, the Director of the Acute Medical Admissions Unit at St James' Hospital The Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) plan to reduce its dependency on acute inpatient beds is fundamentally... Read more

Altered states of consciousness

Thecla Scully | 15 February 2008 | Features

Thecla Scully reports on the power of hypnosis, its detractors and supporters, and its role in practical treatment. What, if any, is the science behind hypnosis and is it ever really posible to control the mind of another person? When... Read more

IHCA cancels National Council Meeting

By Greg Baxter | 14 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has cancelled its National Council meeting on 16 February, blaming the Health Service Executive (HSE) for “inaction” regarding the new consultant contract. The meeting between the National Council and the Contract Negotiating Committee was... Read more

Flu season is not to be sneezed at this winter

Mary Anne Kenny | 14 February 2008 | Features

Mary Anne Kenny reports on the upsurge in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in the country this winter It happens every year and, sure enough, the European flu season has once again arrived to ruin many people’s New... Read more

Surgery risk for the obese

Gary Culliton | 14 February 2008 | Private Healthcare, Public Health

A top surgeon has warned that high-risk oesophageal and gastric surgery will increasingly be performed in private clinics which lack the necessary back-up facilities for such operations putting patients at risk. Prof John Reynolds who is Professor of Surgery at... Read more

Major faults in blood service

Ian McGuinness | 14 February 2008 | Public Health

Two major deficiencies were found during an inspection of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service’s Cork centre by the Irish Medicines Board, including one relating to traceability of blood products. The inspection was carried out in December, and the IBTS told... Read more

Financial structure of HSE criticised by Dáil commitee

Ian McGuinness | 13 February 2008 | Health Management

The structure of the Health Service Executive’s financial statements for 2006 has been attacked by the Comptroller General, Mr John Purcell, and the Chairman of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, Deputy Bernard Allen. Mr Purcell told a recent meeting of... Read more

Interim CF facilities are 'inadequate' says CEO

Greg Baxter | 13 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The interim solution for cystic fibrosis patients at St Vincent’s University Hospital is inadequate, the chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland told Irish Medical Times. Mr Godfrey Fletcher said unless more beds are allocated in the interim... Read more

IMO yet to decide on contract vote

Ian McGuinness | 13 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Medical Organisation has not decided whether it should recommend that its members vote in favour of the recently-negotiated consultant contract. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial Relations with the IMO, explained that a contract document has not even... Read more

GP results due soon

Sandra Ryan | 13 February 2008 | General Practice

GPs who participated in the Medical Council’s pilot Professional Practice Review (PPR) should receive their results in the next few weeks, according to Dr Linda Sysson, Director of Competence Assurance in the Council. Dr Sysson told IMT that 181 GPs... Read more

GP contract is a 'must-do' issue for Department

Ian McGuinness | 13 February 2008 | General Practice

The Secretary General of the Department of Health appeared to suggest to a recent Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that a new GP contract may be created without negotiations. Mr Michael Scanlan, who was speaking as part of a Department of... Read more

Non-EU doctors frozen out

Ian McGuinness | 13 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Non-European Union con-sultants who were given permanent status because of employment legislation are now being discriminated against, a prominent Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) activist has claimed. Mr Syed Jaffrey, Chairman of the IMO’s Non-EU Doctors Committee, said there were one... Read more

Pay must reflect world realities

Greg Baxter | 13 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Consultant pay packages must reflect the market reality that top talent will be lost if the money is not attractive enough, the Secretary General of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) told Irish Medical Times. Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick said Irish... Read more

Academics get less pay in new contract

Ian McGuinness | 13 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Academic consultants are to being offered less of a pay increase if they transfer to their proposed new contract, than if they stay with their existing one, the Irish Medical Organisation has said. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial Relations... Read more

Money diverted from mental health

12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Money allocated to improve mental health services and implement the ‘A Vision for Change’ document were used in other areas, the Minister for Health admitted, due to “expenditure pressures”. “As a result, some of the planned developments in mental health... Read more

In-patient numbers in NE to decrease

12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Inpatient numbers in the North-East region will decrease by about 1,800 a year under the HSE’s plans for the area, according to the Minister for Health Mary Harney. She told the Dáil that there will be more day-case activity in... Read more

Vaccine decison to be made soon

12 February 2008 | Public Health

The announcement on whether or not a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer will be introduced will be made in a few weeks, according to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney. She told the Dáil that the Health Information and Quality... Read more

ED conditions have improved

12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

There have been major improvements in emergency departments over the last two years, according to the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney. The Minister was answering a question from Labour health spokesperson Deputy Jan O’Sullivan on what actions are... Read more

Health Minister admits CF facilities not up to standard

Greg Baxter | 12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Minister for Health has admitted that services for cystic fibrosis sufferers are not as good as they should be, and has outlined plans for improving services, which include the temporary expansion of facilities at St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin. “I... Read more

Dublin ambulance service review still not published

Sandra Ryan | 12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A review of ambulance services in Dublin, completed last year, has not been published due to a case against Ireland over the supply of emergency ambulance services by Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB), according to Health Minister Mary Harney. In response... Read more

New immigration rules welcomed in UK

12 February 2008 | Research and Education

New immigration rules that will restrict international medical graduates’ (IMGs) access to UK post-graduate medical training were welcomed by British Health Secretary, Alan Johnson. The Department of Health said the new rules, which will take effect from February 29, would... Read more

No link between mobile phone use and cancer

12 February 2008 | Public Health

Japanese scientists who studied patients with brain tumours said they found no evidence that using a mobile phone increased the risk of cerebral cancer. In a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers compared the history of mobile... Read more

India must improve healthcare system

12 February 2008 | Foreign News

India must improve the healthcare system to realise its economic potential and the country is well-positioned to tackle challenges in the sector, says a report published in the Economic Times. The report also called for public-private collaboration for better insurance... Read more

Plan to cut hospital waiting times by half

12 February 2008 | Foreign News

Scottish patients will see hospital waiting times slashed in half within three years, under tough new targets set by the Scottish Government, according to a report in The Scotsman. The paper reported that NHS Lothian and other health boards had... Read more

BUPA loses legal challenge to risk equalisation

Sandra Ryan | 12 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

BUPA Ireland (now Quinn-healthcare) has lost its legal challenge against the introduction of a risk-equalisation scheme that would see Irish health insurers pay compensation to VHI Healthcare for its older and therefore more expensive client base. The European Court of... Read more

Enright accuses HSE of ‘doublespeak’

12 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Fine Gael Laois/Offaly Deputy Olwyn Enright has accused the HSE of “bureaucratic doublespeak” on the cancellation of staff contracts at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore. “For almost a week, I have met a bureaucratic brick wall in the HSE... Read more

Beacon acquires heart diagnostic system

12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The first General Electric (GE) Digital Biplane Angiography Suite in Europe, which diagnoses coronary artery disease, is now available at the Beacon Hospital. According to Dr Robert Kelly, Consultant Cardiologist at the Beacon: “The introduction of the GE Digital Biplane... Read more

Competition increases in healthcare software

Greg Baxter | 12 February 2008 | Health Management

Roll-out of the iSoft patient management software platform continues on schedule, with 30 hospitals now running the system, a Health Service Executive (HSE) spokesman has told Irish Medical Times. The HSE has a 10-year contract with iSoft to provide a... Read more

HIQA speeds up review

Sandra Ryan | 12 February 2008 | Public Health

The Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) review into the standard of symptomatic breast services throughout the country has been brought forward due to concerns about breast cancer services. According to HIQA’s CEO, Dr Tracey Cooper, its review — brought... Read more

Row over rates for emergency techs

Ian McGuinness | 12 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Health Service Exec-utive and SIPTU are involved in a row over how much should be paid to emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who have received advanced paramedic training. During discussions between the HSE and SIPTU it was agreed that an... Read more

New facilites for nursing unit will give better care

Ian McGuinness | 12 February 2008 | Public Health

A community nursing unit for the elderly on the Navan Road in Dublin City is to be reconfigured to make it suitable for more dependent residents, although the plan will involve reducing the number of beds at the facility. The... Read more

Scholarships awarded

Gary Culliton | 12 February 2008 | Research and Education

The HSE has awarded scholarships to eight Specialist Registrars under its newly- established programme of training abroad for Irish specialist and senior registrars.... Read more

40 more consultants to be appointed

Ian McGuinness | 12 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Health Service Executive (HSE) is to announce another 40 consultant posts under the 100 + Scheme by the end of March. Sixty consultant posts were announced in August last year under the scheme, which is aimed at complementing the... Read more

Hospitals' corporate structure is key to unlocking their potential

Vincent Barton | 11 February 2008 | Features, Health Management

Mr Vincent Barton says that a fundamental question for hospitals - and indeed the health service as a whole - is how the major hospitals will be governed in the future. He argues that it makes sense for HSE hospitals... Read more

MRSA Cancer Victims not in the original 'Portlaoise 9'

07 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Irish Medical Times has just learned that the individuals described in this week's front page story (Mis-diagnosed cancer victims have MRSA) and on the IMT website were not in the original group of nine that were mis-diagnosed in Portlaoise. Irish... Read more

If you drink doubles, we've no troubles

Greg Baxter | 07 February 2008 | Features

Greg Baxter wonders if proposals to increase the cost of alcohol would have any real effect on alcohol abuse. I asked a friend of mine if she’d decrease her drinking if a vodka and 7up - this is one of... Read more

Doctors' doctor celebrates 80 years

Sandra Ryan | 07 February 2008 | General Practice, Interviews

Sandra Ryan speaks to the now-retired Dr Aiden Meade, who was over 40 years in general practice and helped found the Sick Doctors Scheme There are not many GPs left practising in Ireland who started out in the 1940s or... Read more

United States: New guidelines to improve palliative care

07 February 2008 | Foreign News

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new guidelines to improve palliative care that say clinicians should regularly assess people with serious illness at the end of life for symptoms of pain, shortness of breath, and depression; that they... Read more

South Africa: medics in row with government over costs

07 February 2008 | Foreign News

The South African Medical Association has hit out at the country’s department of health over its National Health Reference Price List, a list published by the government to serve as a price reference to the private healthcare industry. Recommended prices... Read more

Portugal: extra healthcare for tourist spots

07 February 2008 | Foreign News

Portuguese Health Minister Correia de Campos has said new hospitals will be built in Faro and Lisbon to address the problems with healthcare in coastal regions popular with tourists. “Faro has one problem in particular that complicates its straightforward functioning... Read more

Canada: doctors tackle their carbon footprint

07 February 2008 | Foreign News

The Canadian Medical Association has adopted the use of video-conferencing in a bid to reduce the size of its environmental footprint from its travel for face-to-face meetings. The practice will also allow the CMA develop closer ties with members, it... Read more

No guarantees on back-up staff for hospitals

Ian McGuinness | 07 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Will there be the support staff for doctors if a new consultant contract is agreed? Ian McGuinness talks to unions representing health workers... Read more

Doubts over new nurse prescribing scheme

07 February 2008 | General Practice

Plans to introduce nurse prescribing may be in “serious doubt” due to inadequate doctor supervision, according to Deputy Dr James Reilly, FG Health Spokesperson. Deputy Reilly asked the Health Minister Mary Harney what arrangements are in place to provide doctors... Read more

New vaccine this year

07 February 2008 | Public Health

The vaccine to prevent pneumococcal infections will be rolled out onto the immunisation schedule from this September, according to Health Minister Mary Harney. Deputy Pat Breen (FG- Clare) asked the Minister when the Department and the Health Service Executive would... Read more

No stocks of BCG vaccine until March

07 February 2008 | Public Health

Fresh stocks of the BCG vaccine, of which there is a shortage, won’t be available until March, according to the Minister for Health, Mary Harney. Deputy Paul Gogarty (GP, Dublin Mid-West) asked the Minister when new supplies of the BCG vaccine... Read more

Worries over services in HSE North-East

07 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Department of Health insists there will be no discontinuation of existing services in the North East until “suitable alternative arrangements” are in place. Speaking on behalf of Health Minister Mary Harney during a debate on the matter, Minister of... Read more

Non-EU docs 'thrown out'

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Research and Education

Non-European Union doctors in training are being thrown aside ‘like a paper cup’ at the end of their programmes, the Chairman of the IMO’s Non-EU Doctors Committee has said. Mr Syed Jaffrey said that EU and non EU doctors have... Read more

Mis-diagnosed cancer women now have MRSA

Sandra Ryan | 06 February 2008 | Health Management

A number of the women receiving treatment for breast cancer after being misdiagnosed at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise late last year have contracted MRSA during the course of their care, Irish Medical Times has learned, although it is... Read more

HSE plan to cut beds won't work

By Greg Baxter | 06 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The plan to introduce medical assessment units (MAUs) at all major hospitals – a key aspect of the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) plan to reduce its dependence on acute beds - will not work unless the HSE fundamentally alters its... Read more

Polish smokers need help

Greg Baxter | 06 February 2008 | Public Health

The dramatically high prevalence of heavy smokers among Poles will result in an ‘economic disaster’ for Ireland, a prominent respiratory physician has told Irish Medical Times. Prof Luke Clancy said rates of heavy smoking in the Polish population — the... Read more

VHI claims up 87 per cent over ten years

06 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

The number of medical claims paid by the VHI between 1996 and 2006 increased by 87 per cent, according to the organisation’s medical director, Dr Bernadette Carr. “Over a 10-year period the number of medical claims which we have paid... Read more

RCPI call for alcohol overhaul

06 February 2008 | Public Health

The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) has, in a written submission to the Department of Justice, called for a radical overhaul of how alcohol products are sold. “The RCPI Faculty of Public Health Medicine is concerned about the... Read more

IMO requests meeting on EWTD implementation

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Medical Organisation has requested a meeting with high-ranking HSE personnel before the union’s NCHD committee discusses this month whether or not to pull out of contract talks and the National Implementation Group. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial... Read more

Nurses’ fears in acute settings

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Psychiatric nurses may not be able to work in acute settings within the next six weeks because of health and safety issues and the failure of a compensation scheme, says the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association.... Read more

Primary care on new tender competition

Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | General Practice

The Health Service Executive wants to recruit an individual to provide it with consultancy services in relations to primary care. The tender, which was published recently, said the services would be related to the HSE’s Primary Care Transformation Programme. The... Read more

Tender process for new MRI unit services

06 February 2008 | Health Management

The Health Service Executive has published a tender inviting interested parties to provide an MRI unit in Cavan. The document stated that the successful bidder would have to provide a building, as well as installing and commissioning facilities and training... Read more

IMO pledges talks support

Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) is still available to discuss the roll-out of the cervical screening programme throughout Ireland, despite the recent breakdown in talks on the matter, a union representative has said. Dr Martin Daly, chairman of its GP... Read more

Court rules on right to life of psychiatric patients

Ed Madden | 06 February 2008 | Features, Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a Court of Appeal case in England, in which the Court examined the right to life of psychiatric patients under the European Convention on Human Rights On 5 July 2004, 49-year-old Carol Savage committed suicide,... Read more

VIVAS merger with Hibernian remains under speculation

By Sandra Ryan | 06 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

Reports of a merger between VIVAS Health and Hibernian Insurance remain unconfirmed by either party, despite strong indications that the latter has made a bid to take a controlling stake in VIVAS. A spokesperson for VIVAS declined to comment on... Read more

Patients benefit from IT nursing supports

Mary Anne Kenny | 06 February 2008 | Features

Mary Anne Kenny looks at how user-friendly technology has allowed nurses in Los Angeles, California, to spend much more time at patients' bedsides The percentage of time that nurses spend at patients’ bedsides has soared from 34 per cent to... Read more

Inquest study provides unsatisfactory results

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Regulation

A new system is needed to record medical and psycho-social information about people whose deaths results in an inquest, a study has said.... Read more

By Greg Baxter | 06 February 2008 | Health Management

Fine Gael is set to attack the government and Minister for Health this week over a number of high-profile issues, the FG Health spokesman Dr James Reilly said.... Read more

North-east doctors rebel on cuts

By Sandra Ryan | 06 February 2008 | Health Management

Over 300 doctors in the north-east will attend a meeting called to urgently discuss the Health Service Executive (HSE) plans to cut hospital services from the region, revealed in a leaked private document.... Read more

Internal progress in contract negotiations

By Greg Baxter | 06 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

A new consultant contract will be drawn up by consultants and the Health Service Executive (HSE), rather than by a third party, Irish Medical Times has learned.... Read more

Report reveals need for change in care for trauma patients

Dr Morgan McMonagle | 06 February 2008 | Features

A new UK report reveals that 60 per cent of UK trauma patients received care that was considered less than good practice. Irish doctor Morgan McMonagle — who was on the Advisory Committee of the NCEPOD Trauma Report — asks... Read more

GP services for homeless

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | Public Health

Merchants Quay Ireland is conducting research into the best methods of providing primary healthcare to young, homeless, drug users.... Read more

Call for national audit of trauma caseload

By Greg Baxter | 06 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Huge numbers of trauma patients in Irish emergency rooms may be receiving a standard of care that is not good practice - according to an Irish trauma surgeon with extensive experience in trauma care both here and abroad. And Ireland... Read more

Jury will be out for some time

Kealan Flynn | 06 February 2008 | Features

Kealan Flynn asks whether investment in community health services will ever be enough to ease the bed-capacity problems of the public sector Perhaps the most important underpinning of the new integrated care model proposed in the latest bed capacity review... Read more

Discrimination case against GP cleared by Equality Tribunal

By Ian McGuinness | 06 February 2008 | General Practice

The Equality Tribunal has found that a GP did not discriminate against a former patient on disability grounds. The woman who made the complaint is a wheelchair user and was a patient of the doctor for one year. The complainant... Read more

Pharmacy objections to luxury goods tax

Sandra Ryan | 06 February 2008 | Public Health

The Minister for Finance, who recently reduced VAT rate on condoms, has now been asked to reduce VAT on all medicines taxed at the rate of 21 per cent. Last week, Brian Cowen announced that, under the Finance Bill 2008,... Read more

Accounting for non-accountants

Barry O'Brien | 06 February 2008 | Features

Barry O’Brien advises that having access to up-to-date, accurate information on your finances ensures that your business decisions are a great deal easier to make and you are also much more likely to be successful. As a business consultant to... Read more

Dr Jim (Blacky) Maguire - obituary

PM | 06 February 2008 | Features

When Jim died on Good Friday (last year), his patients lost their doctor, doctors lost a colleague and team leader, and we all lost a friend. We lost a uniquely-gifted person. Jim was a most sincere and caring person, honest... Read more

North-east doctors rebel on cuts

Sandra Ryan | 06 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Over 300 doctors in the north-east will attend a meeting called to urgently discuss the Health Service Executive (HSE) plans to cut hospital services from the region, revealed in a leaked private document. Despite the document stating that the HSE... Read more

New Deputy Editor at Irish Medical Times

01 February 2008 |

Mary Anne Kenny has recently joined the Irish Medical Times as Deputy Editor. Mary has spent the past four-and-a-half years working in medical publishing, as Editor of Health Services Review with Ocean Publishing Ltd. She also edited Health & Safety... Read more

HSE warned on GPs

Sandra Ryan | 01 February 2008 | General Practice, Health Management

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been asked to reverse their decision not to expand the number of GP training places to a planned 150, as doctors warn the move will have serious repercussions for the specialty. Figures compiled by... Read more

HSE blames IMO for failure to implement EWTD

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Health Service Executive Employers Agency has blamed the Irish Medical Organisation for blocking the roll-out of projects that could implement the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). The comments were made after the Chairman of the IMO’s NCHD Committee, Dr... Read more

Detentions revoked before tribunal sits

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Regulation

An average of four involuntary detentions were revoked every day in 2007, before a mental health tribunal could be held into the case of the patient involved, it has emerged. Statistics from the Mental Health Commission illustrate that there were... Read more

GPs need to do more to fight drug abuse- NACD

Greg Baxter | 01 February 2008 | General Practice, Public Health

GPs could be doing more in the fight against drug abuse and addiction, the chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) told Irish Medical Times. Dr Des Corrigan said GPs have the opportunity to intervene at the most... Read more

New 75-bed Cork hospital to go ahead

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Planning and Development

The building of a new hospital and hospice at Ballinaspig in County Cork is proceeding, with companies being invited to tender for the construction of the facility. Curraheen Hospital Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of St Patrick’s Hospital... Read more

E-health: How IT can help safety research

01 February 2008 | Information Technology

The WHO estimates that worldwide, tens of millions of patients each year are victims of unsafe medical practices and care The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an e-health survey for its Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety to determine the... Read more

VHI defends stance on co-location

Sandra Ryan | 01 February 2008 | Private Healthcare

The VHI has strongly refuted claims that it is holding up the Government’s co-location plan by not committing to provide cover for the private hospitals. A spokesperson for the VHI told Irish Medical Times it is ‘senseless’ to talk about... Read more

HSE and unions in talks to extend core working day of health workers

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Talks are due to begin this week between the HSE and trade unions about an extended core working day for a variety of health service workers. Mr Brendan Mulligan, Assistant Chief Executive Officer in Industrial Relations for the Health Service... Read more

NCHD committee face tough call

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

A meeting is expected to take place soon between senior officials in the Irish Medical Organisation and the Health Service Executive because the union’s NCHD Committee is on the cusp of taking action that would have fairly serious consequences for... Read more

Cannula caused serious infection

Ed Madden | 01 February 2008 | Medico-Legal

Rosalind Colwill was employed by the Methodist Church as a Spiritual Director in Nigeria. In September 2002, she flew to the UK to attend her niece’s wedding in Oxford. On Saturday 21 September she awoke with a fever, but nonetheless... Read more

Half of survey patients left without VTE treatment

Greg Baxter | 01 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Hospital physicians must educate on the risks of potentially fatal blood clots, which kill 20 times more patients than MRSA, the author of a massive epidemiological study on venous thrombolembolism (VTE) has said. The ENDORSE study, published in the Lancet,... Read more

Abandoned psychiatric unit draws heavy criticism

Greg Baxter | 01 February 2008 | Health Management, Planning and Development

The discovery that an acute psychiatric unit planned for Beaumont Hospital has been abandoned so that a new co-located hospital can be built has brought widespread condemnation. Last week the Irish Psychiatric Association published a damning report on the plundering... Read more

Issues still to be resolved in consultant contract

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

Pay, pensions, the monitoring of private practise levels, and Medical Council registration were among the issues that the Irish Medical Organisation said still had to be resolved in contract talks earlier this week. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial Relations... Read more

[link??] HSE hospitals need boards

Greg Baxter | 01 February 2008 | Health Management

Hospitals that are owned and operated entirely by the Health Service Executive (HSE) ought to have their own boards and governance structures, one of Ireland’s leading healthcare experts has recommended. Mr Vincent Barton, Managing Director of the consulting firm Prospectus,... Read more

No changes to GP contract without talks

Sandra Ryan | 01 February 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned the Health Service Executive (HSE) that they will not accept any changes to the current GP contract without extensive negotiation and consultation. “The HSE seem to have taken the view that they will... Read more

Doctors back ED closures

Greg Baxter | 01 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The country’s most influential emergency medicine group has backed the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) plan to shut several emergency departments (EDs) as part of a reconfiguration, but only if the process is completely transparent and if several conditions are met... Read more

Rotunda refuses to release 100-year old records

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Medico-Legal, Regulation

The Rotunda Hospital refused to release 100-year-old records to a woman that would have told her how old her grandmother was in 1907. The woman applied to the hospital, under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, for information relating to her... Read more

Kenya: Thousands provided with medical assistance in post-election violence

Emer Mullins | 01 February 2008 | Foreign News

Thousands of Kenyans who have been displaced by the recent political violence in the country’s capital, Nairobi, and in other affected areas are receiving medical assistance from the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, according to Global Health News. The disputed... Read more

Ethiopia: WMA calls for increase in training of doctors

Emer Mullins | 01 February 2008 | Foreign News

At its recent meeting in Addis Ababa, the World Medical Association (WMA) has called for an increase in the education and training of doctors and other health professionals as part of a move by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to... Read more

Australia: Questions on medication safety

Emer Mullins | 01 February 2008 | Foreign News

Two articles in the latest Medical Journal of Australia raise concerns about the safety of medication practices in hospitals, one analysing the reasons for prescribing errors by interns and the other identifying problems with the standard national inpatient medication chart... Read more

Transplant patients live without drugs

Sandra Ryan | 01 February 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Kidney transplants may soon be carried out without the need for a lifetime of immunosuppressive drugs, research from the US suggests. Two separate American techniques, both published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have seen recipients recovering from the... Read more

Planning applications for centres appealed

Ian McGuinness | 01 February 2008 | Planning and Development

Two Planning applications in Tipperary involving medical centres have been referred to An Bord Pleanála. The first application was for 32 dwellings and a commercial building at Knockanglass in Fethard. The medical centre was to be located in the commercial... Read more

Wicklow still affected by recruitment freeze

Mary Anne Kenny | 01 February 2008 | Health Management

The Health Service Exec-utive (HSE) recruitment freeze is still biting in Co Wicklow, with vacancies for key medical and hygiene staff still on hold, according to Fine Gael Wicklow Deputy Andrew Doyle. “Thirty-four essential vacancies in the Wicklow Health Service... Read more

Doctor says suspension was 'bad for patients'

Gary Culliton | 01 February 2008 | Interviews

Gary Culliton talks to Dr Jerome Manuceau - the surgeon suspended after a number of complaints were made to the Medical Council last year. An inquest* will be held on 5 February into the death of Ms Bernadette Kavenagh-Reid, who... Read more