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News: May 2008

Nurses forced to pay their own wages

Ian McGuinness | 30 May 2008 | Public Health

Nurses in palliative home care teams in Galway help to raise funds that pay their salary, the Irish Hospice Foundation has revealed. Mr Eugene Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, explained that the 25 home nurses based in Galway... Read more

Fewer patients have involuntary status revoked before hearings

Ian McGuinness | 30 May 2008 | Medico-Legal

The number of involuntarily detained psychiatric patients who had their status revoked before a mental health tribunal hearing into their case, has fallen to its lowest point in at least 15 months. Figures for March 2008 show just 91 such... Read more

Crumlin ordered to cut back

Greg Baxter | 30 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Crumlin Hospital must reduce the number of patients it treats, as cutbacks ‘across the board’ are instituted to save €7 million by the end of the year. Irish Medical Times has learned that the CEO of the hospital addressed hospital... Read more

Beacon Group kicks up a stink over sewerage problem

Gary Culliton | 30 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Amid mounting anger from the developer Beacon Medical Group (BMG) concerning the proposed new €160 million Women’s, Children’s and Maternity Hospital at Sandyford, in Dublin, a meeting was held on 26 May between the owners of BMG and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown... Read more

Interns working 'above grade', says report

Sandra Ryan | 30 May 2008 | Research and Education

Many interns are working without proper or adequate training, according to the Medical Council’s new review of undergraduate medical training. “Interns are sometimes being asked to act ‘above grade’, at a level that is not appropriate for a new and... Read more

GPs relied upon to treat sexual assault victims

Alan Deeley | 29 May 2008 | General Practice

Systems to treat victims of sexual assault rely too heavily on GPs and are ‘in danger of falling apart’, according to Dr Ronan Boland, head of the IMO General Practitioners’ Committee. The HSE’s reliance on GPs to help people in... Read more

Island nurses get special allowance

Ian McGuinness | 29 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The trade union representing public health nurses has received a positive result from a Labour Court case taken on the nurses’ behalf. The Irish Nurses Organis-ation (INO) took a case claiming that public health nurses, who are on call for... Read more

10,000 children wait for TB vaccine

Ian McGuinness | 29 May 2008 | Public Health

Nearly 10,000 children are on a waiting list in the Health Service Executive South to be given a vaccine that will protect them against tuberculosis. The figure was revealed at the latest meeting of the HSE South’s Regional Health Forum,... Read more

NCSS defends choice of Quest Diagnostics

Gary Culliton | 29 May 2008 | Public Health

Any claim that there will not be a facility for a doctor in Ireland to discuss a cervical cancer smear with the person interpreting it in the USA is simply not true, the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) has said.... Read more

Overseas docs go to Justice for visas

Alan Deeley | 29 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Department of Health’s non-intervention in visa rights for non-EU doctors working in Ireland has forced negotiators to go directly to the Department of Justice. The current visa system has created difficulties for a cohort of doctors that make up... Read more

Supreme Court rules on Mental Health Act

Ed Madden | 29 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine, Medico-Legal

Ed Madden BL on a recent case in which the Supreme Court considered whether a consultant could validly sign a patient's renewal order under Section 15 of the Mental Health Act, 2001 In 1998, MM developed a dangerous schizophrenic condition... Read more

New rehabilitation hospital for Dún Laoghaire?

By Ian McGuinness | 28 May 2008 | Planning and Development

The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) has said it is going to submit a planning application today for a new 235-bed facility in Dún Laoghaire. The new hospital, which will be situated on the NRH’s current campus on Rochestown Avenue, will... Read more

TV junkies manipulated by adverts

Alan Deeley | 28 May 2008 | Public Health

Junk food advertisements enter the bedrooms of the one in three Irish adolescents who have their own television set — leaving them open to commercial manipulation, Aaccording to Dr Joe Barry, specialist in public health medicine. Dr Barry told Irish... Read more

Beacon to provide breast cancer surgery

Gary Culliton | 28 May 2008 | Public Health

A new breast cancer surgery service will open in six weeks’ time at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital and aims to operate as a ‘hub’ for a network of private Irish cancer centres. The breast surgery service will augment a ‘comprehensive cancer... Read more

High Court finds in favour of pharmacist

Ian McGuinness | 28 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Another pharmacist has been granted an injunction from the High Court to stop the HSE from changing his contract, the cause of a six-month dispute between both parties. The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has welcomed the decision, granted to pharmacist... Read more

One 'unnecessary death' per month in UCHG's emergency department

Sandra Ryan | 28 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

In a letter to hospital management, doctors in University College Hospital Galway (UCHG) have stated that overcrowding in the hospital’s emergency depart-ment could be resulting in patients’ deaths. The letter states that in April 2008, there was a total of... Read more

GPs needed for Malawi project

28 May 2008 | Foreign News

The Billy Malawi Project, set up as a memorial for 25-year-old Billy Riordan, who drowned in Lake Malawi, Central Africa in 1999, is looking for GPs to volunteer in its primary care clinic in Cape Maclear, Malawi. The doctors are... Read more

HRB conference to be held in November

28 May 2008 | Research and Education

The Health Research Board is holding a conference entitled ‘Working Together to Improve People’s Health’, aimed at researchers, policy makers and people working in the health services on 11 November in Dublin Castle. The conference will discuss the best approach... Read more

Get your entries in for the Healthcare Awards

Mary Anne Kenny | 27 May 2008 | Features, Health Management

If you have been part of a development in healthcare that is a good example of excellence and innovation, or you know of a project or person within the pharmaceutical or healthcare industries that deserves recognition, it’s time to let... Read more

Investment needed in epilepsy services

Alan Deeley | 27 May 2008 | Public Health

Initiatives costing less than €1 million per annum could save millions of euro spent on reactive health and legal services for people with epilepsy. By increasing the numbers of specialist nurses from four to 14, and providing basic GP training... Read more

Microbiologists under pressure to share expertise

Mary Anne Kenny | 27 May 2008 | Public Health

A lack of consultant microbiologists means that those working in the field are under extra pressure dealing with queries from hospitals without adequate microbiology services, according to Dr Niamh O’Sullivan of the Irish Society of Clinical Microbiologists. “Consultants or infection... Read more

New guidelines from GMC

Emer Mullins | 27 May 2008 | Foreign News

Emer Mullins on new guidelines for doctors in the UK, which come into effect next week, on how to communicate effectively with patients. New guidelines from Britain’s General Medical Council (GMC) on doctors communicating effectively with patients about their condition... Read more

Sharp increase in measles cases 'not yet an emergency'

27 May 2008 | Foreign News

Cases of measles in Italy are on the rise but the country is not yet in the grip of an outbreak, a public health expert told ANSA news agency. ‘’It’s true that since 2006, there has been a certain revival... Read more

Children in intensive care at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder

27 May 2008 | Foreign News

Researchers have shown that a third of children who stay in a paediatric intensive care unit have delusional memories, including vivid and frightening hallucinations that put them at high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. They said children who received opiates... Read more

Over 200 people have sought euthanasia drug, says newspaper

27 May 2008 | Foreign News

A Mexican newspaper has claimed that at least 200 terminally-ill people from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States have visited Mexico since 2001 to buy a cheap, widely available euthanasia drug. The newspaper, Reform, cited a pro-euthanasia Australian... Read more

Mobile masts meet muted response

Ian McGuinness | 27 May 2008 | Features, Hospital Medicine

The issue of mobile phone companies putting equipment on hospital buildings is back in the public eye once more, following two planning applications in Cork and Dublin. Late last year, O2 Communications (Ireland) Limited applied to Cork City Council for... Read more

Simple steps to a more efficient day

26 May 2008 | Features

Dr Paul Heslin piles on the pounds (literally) while looking after the pennies in practice. Become aware of the economics of repetition in your medical business and you will extract added value from your time. Design your practice and your... Read more

O’Sullivan elected President of ESA

23 May 2008 | Research and Education

RCSI President Prof Gerald O’Sullivan has been elected President of the European Surgical Association (ESA).Prof O’Sullivan, whose term in office as President of RCSI concludes in June, will take up his office as President of ESA in April next year.... Read more

'Pay for performance' proposal

23 May 2008 | Foreign News

A new report says paying hospitals and medical specialists for performance can offer good value for taxpayers and patients, and Estonia should consider the introduction of such a ‘P4P’ scheme. In a report titled ‘Payment for Performance (P4P): International Experience... Read more

In Ireland, you even have to wait to die

Ian McGuinness | 23 May 2008 | Public Health

Dying patients are on waiting lists for admission to hospices, day hospice services and home care services, according to the chief executive officer of Our Lady’s Hospice in Dublin. Ms Mo Flynn was in a delegation to the Oireachtas Joint... Read more

Medical schools agree to new admissions test

Sandra Ryan | 23 May 2008 | Research and Education

Medical schools have agreed to and approved the Government’s new proposals for undergraduate medical education, which will see students combine their Leaving Certificate results with a separate admissions test for the first time. The proposals stem from the Fottrell... Read more

Most prescribed drugs do work for HIV — study

Greg Baxter | 22 May 2008 | Public Health

The most frequently prescribed triple-drug combinations for initial HIV-1 infection is the most effective at suppressing HIV, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Infectious disease expert and Head of the UCD School of Medicine,... Read more

MSF battles to bring aid to cyclone victims

Sandra Ryan | 22 May 2008 | Features, Public Health

Sandra Ryan spoke to representatives of Médecins Sans Frontières about the organisation's efforts to bring aid to cyclone-stricken Myanmar, formerly Burma Media coverage of the cyclone that devastated Myanmar (formerly Burma) on 2 May has waned, probably more because of... Read more

New €10 billion health fund announced for Oz

22 May 2008 | Foreign News

The Australian government has announced a new $10 billion Health and Hospitals Fund in its latest budget to support health infrastructure priorities in key areas. The money will ensure long-term funding for hospitals, medical technology and research facilities and projects,... Read more

Clinical directors to be appointed by September

Gary Culliton | 22 May 2008 | Health Management

The HSE has pledged to fill over a hundred new clinical director positions across the health service by 1 September this year and Minister Mary Harney has said there is ‘huge interest’ in taking up the posts, which are initially... Read more

IMO holds two votes on revised contract

Ian McGuinness | 22 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Two separate ballots on the terms of the proposed revised consultant contract are being held by the Irish Medical Organisation. Last week, the IMO’s Consultant Committee decided to conduct a ballot, but did not make a recommendation to accept or... Read more

Partnerships — the GP assistant's perspective

22 May 2008 | Features, General Practice

General practice as an industry is like many others in so far as it has its own individual foibles and idiosyncrasies. Not least of these oddities is the method by which new partners are recruited to existing partnerships. Anecdotal evidence... Read more

Coombe staff acted lawfully in administering blood transfusion

Ed Madden | 22 May 2008 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent case in which a woman who received a blood transfusion at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin claimed damages for alleged breach of her rights. At 9.46 a.m. on 21 September 2006, Ms. K,... Read more

New discovery demonstrates DNA link

21 May 2008 | Research and Education

A recent discovery at TCD’s Institute of Molecular Medicine, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute USA, has demonstrated a link between DNA repair genes and the development of multiple myeloma. TCD Professor of Experimental Haematology, Mark Lawler, and his... Read more

Palliative care funding 'disappears'

Ian McGuinness | 21 May 2008 | Features, Health Management

Ian McGuinness on the revelations that funding allocated for hospice and palliative care was used to balance the HSE's books Psychiatry is often referred to as the ‘Cinderella of the health services’. If so, then palliative care must be Cinderella’s... Read more

WHO responds to health needs following cyclone

21 May 2008 | Foreign News

The World Health Organ-ization (WHO) said approximately 50 per cent of the rural and township health centres in the cyclone-affected areas of Burma (Myanmar) are reported to be damaged. The organisation received over €2 million in funding from the UN... Read more

Phoenix Park HSE unit gets approval

Ian McGuinness | 21 May 2008 | Public Health

A 50-bed community nursing unit is due to be built in the Phoenix Park in Dublin by the Health Service Executive. The proposal received planning permission recently from Dublin City Council. The facility will be partly two and partly one-storey... Read more

Barriers to clinical research must be broken

21 May 2008 | Features

Greg Baxter reports from a conference on clinical research in Ireland, where experts warned that Irish researchers must link with industry in order to compete internationally. The race toward excellence in healthcare is fuelled by research. While trolley waits and... Read more

Cigarettes to have photos soon

21 May 2008 | Public Health

Cigarette packs may soon have photo warnings to accompany text warnings. The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, will introduce legislation to allow for the introduction of combined text and photo warnings on tobacco products. The Department of Health has identified... Read more

New study to track food-borne infections

Mary Anne Kenny | 21 May 2008 | Public Health

A new collaborative study being carried out by safefood with the UK Food Standards Agency, will be the first in the world to use DNA methods to comprehensively estimate the prevalence of food-borne infections. The study was launched at the... Read more

E-health: New wave of healthcare provision

21 May 2008 | Features, Information Technology

Developments in the use of biosensors mean that doctors may soon be able to monitor injuries and illness from remote locations. Compact, wireless and power-efficient body sensors that allow doctors to monitor illnesses and injuries remotely are a step closer,... Read more

Lay nominees disappoint

Greg Baxter | 21 May 2008 | Regulation

Former President of the Medical Council Dr John Hillery said he is disappointed that the Health Service Executive did not use its nominations for seats on the new Medical Council to choose doctors to protect the professional majority of the... Read more

Most don’t talk about depression to doctors

20 May 2008 | Public Health

Nearly two-thirds of people believe that depression is a difficult problem to talk to their doctor about, according to a new survey by the Lundbeck Mental Health Barometer. The most common symptoms among those with personal experience of depression are... Read more

Impact to take industrial action in protest against HSE

Ian McGuinness | 20 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The trade union IMPACT has said it is taking industrial action this week in order to protest against the Health Service Executive’s recruitment freeze and to demand the implementation of more than 40 agreements. The union said almost 28,000 of... Read more

GP-led cancer care is 'huge opportunity'

Terence Cosgrave | 20 May 2008 | Public Health

The Director of the National Cancer Control Programme, Prof Tom Keane, has told GPs that there is a ‘huge opportunity’ to improve cancer care in Ireland by making it GP-led, and that he has been surprised by how under-used the... Read more

Not enough 'cranks' to demand more services

Terence Cosgrave | 20 May 2008 |

In an address to the ICGP AGM in Galway, Prof Kathleen Lynch said that the reason why the Irish health service was so poor was that at the public level, there weren’t enough ‘cranks’ like herself willing to demand better... Read more

New HQ required for ICGP

20 May 2008 | General Practice

The Irish College of General Practitioners’ current accommodation on Lincoln Place will not be able to meet the future needs of the College, according to the ICGP Chairman, Dr Mark Walsh. Presenting the ICGP Strategic Plan (2008-2013), Dr Walsh said... Read more

New smear-testing process still unclear

Ian McGuinness | 20 May 2008 | Public Health

GP negotiators are trying to ascertain how the process of collecting cervical smears and returning the results will happen, Dr Ronan Boland has said. The Cork GP, who is also Chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP Committee, said the... Read more

First overseas healthcare provider gets accredited

Greg Baxter | 20 May 2008 | Public Health

A UK company that claims to facilitate medical tourism through information and accreditation has accredited its first healthcare provider. Treatment Abroad, a UK company owned by Intuition Communication, has recognised Mills & Mills Medical Group, a Spanish provider. Treatment Abroad... Read more

Landfill records 'illegible', says HSE

Ian McGuinness | 20 May 2008 | Health Management

A lot of the hospital records found at the Glounthaune landfill site in County Cork late last month are illegible, the Health Service Executive has claimed. Mr Gerry O’Dwyer, who is the Network Manager for the Southern Hospitals Group, informed... Read more

Individualised care needed for some epilepsy cases

Mary Anne Kenny | 20 May 2008 | Public Health

People with intellectual disabilities who also have epilepsy need individualised epilepsy care and treatment, according to Ms Aisling Farrell, Director of Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association. This year’s National Epilepsy Week, which is running until 25 May, is focusing on... Read more

O'Shea is the RCPI’s new vice-president

Mary Anne Kenny | 20 May 2008 | Regulation

Dr Diarmuid O’Shea of St Vincent’s University Hospital has been appointed as Vice-President of Education and Professional Development at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). Announcing the appoint-ment, Dr John Donohoe, President of the RCPI, emphasised the fact... Read more

Ultrasound plus mammography may improve cancer detection

20 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The addition of an ultrasound examination to mammography for women at high risk of breast cancer resulted in a higher rate of cancer detection, but also increased the number of false-positive results, according to a new study. Supplemental ultrasound screening... Read more

Dr Vincent Dolan — an appreciation

20 May 2008 | Features, Obituary

Dr Vincent Dolan, Renal Physician, passed away unexpectedly on 17 April, 2007. Vincent Dolan (or Vinny, as he was known) was born in Dublin and educated in Blackrock College. He graduated from Univer-sity College Dublin in 1996 and trained in... Read more

Cholera epidemic hits Peru

20 May 2008 | Foreign News

A fast-moving cholera epidemic, said to be the first major outbreak in the Americas this century, has killed 1,100 Peruvians and sickened 150,000 since January. It has now spread to Ecuador and Colombia, according to a report in the New... Read more

Adherence to medication regimens can be improved

20 May 2008 | Features

Though is is difficult to get 100% compliance, it is possible to get higher levels of adherence to medication regimens with the right approach and teamwork. No matter how good the level of care provided by GPs or hospital staff,... Read more

Opportunities exist for GPs

Sandra Ryan | 19 May 2008 | General Practice

Sandra Ryan writes that though there are many challenges facing general practice in Ireland today, it is also a time of great potential and opportunity. Some observers might argue that general practice is in the doldrums at present, that morale... Read more

'Hollywood ending' for radiotherapy plan?

Greg Baxter | 18 May 2008 | Interviews, Public Health

Greg Baxter heard good news about the progress of the national radiotherapy plan, when he spoke with Prof Donal Hollywood at the sixth International Cancer Conference. The chairman of one of the most important strategy documents in the history of... Read more

Abortion access eased

Sandra Ryan | 16 May 2008 | Public Health

Access to drug induced abortions may become possible for Irish women travelling to the UK, following a pilot study showing that early medical abortions could be safely carried out in community health centres, GP surgeries and family planning clinics. The... Read more

Stem cell research goes to Paris

Gary Culliton | 16 May 2008 | Research and Education

Ballymena-born stem cell researcher Prof Colin McGuckin has this week launched a Paris-based consortium, to provide ‘a platform for research’. McGuckin and the internationally-renowned research group on cord blood at Newcastle University and the Fondation Jérôme Lejeune in Paris have... Read more

HIQA helps out hackneys

Terence Cosgrave | 16 May 2008 | Regulation

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) — whose job it is to monitor standards in the health service — routinely sends letters and documents from its Cork office to its Dublin office by taxi, at a cost of €425... Read more

Reilly sets out his stall on how to reform health

Terence Cosgrave | 16 May 2008 | Health Management

The opposition spokesperson on health Dr James Reilly has for the first time outlined the steps that a Fine Gael-led government would take to tackle the deep-seated problems of the health service. In an exclusive article for Irish Medical Times... Read more

Privacy – for dead patient

Ian McGuinness | 16 May 2008 | Regulation

The Health Service Executive tried to argue that it had to protect the right to privacy of a deceased patient, the Information Commissioner has revealed. Ms Emily O’Reilly explained the situation in her recent Annual Report for 2007. Without giving... Read more

Beaumont permission for Beacon Medical

Ian McGuinness | 16 May 2008 | Private Healthcare

Beacon Medical Limited has been granted planning permission for its proposed co-located hospital at Beaumont, although one condition attached to the decision said it must pay nearly €5 million to Dublin City Council before construction begins. The condition stated €4,904,856... Read more

Arthritis drugs available despite NICE decision

Gary Culliton | 16 May 2008 | Public Health

Anti-TNF drug therapies are freely available and sequential use for such drugs is available for patients here, Arthritis Ireland has confirmed. This follows the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE’s) decision to refuse thousands of people the... Read more

Cervical screening decision is criticised

Greg Baxter | 15 May 2008 | Public Health

The decision to outsource cervical screening lab testing services rather than investing in existing Irish labs – first reported by Irish Medical Times – has been condemned by the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association. The General Secretary of the Association said... Read more

Hermitage gets 31 more beds in planning decision

Ian McGuinness | 15 May 2008 | Planning and Development, Private Healthcare

Hermitage Medical Developments Limited has won the right to add another 31 beds to its medical clinic on the Old Lucan Road in Dublin but it cannot create the extra 77 car parking spaces that it wanted. The company was... Read more

Ballot for deal to be decided soon

Ian McGuinness | 15 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Irish Medical Organisation consultants will decide this week whether or not to arrange a ballot on the current terms of the consultant contract. If the union’s Consultant Committee decides to proceed with a ballot it will also recommend to IMO... Read more

HSE acted reasonably in case of pregnant emergency worker

Ed Madden | 15 May 2008 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent Equality Tribunal case in which an Emergency Medical Technician claimed that she was discriminated against by the HSE on grounds of gender. Zita Sweeney is employed by the HSE Midlands Area as an... Read more

Contract changed to open job opportunities

Ian McGuinness | 14 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Doctors applying for new consultant posts under the revised contract are concerned that the structure of the competition could prevent them from getting some of the jobs, the Irish Medical Organisation has said. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial Relations... Read more

‘Redundant’ oncology consultants needed

Greg Baxter | 14 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Ireland must create ‘slightly redundant’ oncology posts if research work and clinical trials here are to be comparable internationally, the Associate Director of the National Cancer Research Network in the UK told the sixth International Cancer Conference in Dublin last... Read more

Pathology may have to go private

Greg Baxter | 14 May 2008 | Public Health

Pathology and diagnostics may have to be privatised to keep up with drug development and clinical trials, according to a pioneering oncologist in Northern Ireland. Prof Patrick Johnston, who received this year’s Cancer Strategic Development Award from the sixth International... Read more

Personalised medicine may prevent cancer

14 May 2008 | Public Health

Personalised medicine is ‘the way forward’ in cancer chemo-prevention, a leading international oncologist told the sixth International Cancer Conference. MD Anderson Cancer Center Oncologist Prof Scott Lipmann said: “Exciting new data using combination approaches has shown that using low doses... Read more

Children poisoned by household medicines

14 May 2008 | Public Health

Over 4,000 children in Ireland are accidentally poisoned each year, the Irish Pharmacy Union AGM heard last weekend. The figure, sourced from the Poisons Information Centre in Beaumont Hospital, show that in most cases, prescription or over-the-counter medication is involved.... Read more

Funding needed for spina bifida

Mary Anne Kenny | 14 May 2008 | Public Health

More State funding is need-ed if the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IASBAH) is to maintain its services, said the organisation’s Chief Executive, Mr George Kennedy. Speaking at the IASBAH annual conference in Cork last weekend, he said... Read more

New CEO for health workers’ council

Mary Anne Kenny | 14 May 2008 | Regulation

The first chief executive officer of the Health and Social Care Professionals Council is Ms Virginia (Ginny) Hanrahan. Ms Hanrahan commenced her duties on 12 May and is based at 8-11 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. The Health and Social... Read more

Work begins on new unit for Donnybrook Hospital

Mary Anne Kenny | 14 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Work has begun on the construction of a new €7.5 million, 30-bed unit at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook (RHD). The new unit will bring the number of in-patient beds up to 230 and it is expected to be completed early... Read more

UCC biochemist develops new neuroscience technique

14 May 2008 | Research and Education

A biochemist at University College Cork (UCC) has developed a new technique in neuroscience research, and has published an article about the method in Nature Neuroscience. Dr Paul Young’s technique allows scientists to both visualise brain cells in great detail,... Read more

Junior doctors strike over pay

14 May 2008 | Foreign News

Emer Mullins reports on the dispute between New Zealand's district health boards and the country's junior doctors, who are seeking a pay increase. New Zealand’s hospitals faced a second round of disruption when junior doctors went on strike over a... Read more

Medical training reforms slammed by BMA

14 May 2008 | Foreign News

The British Medical Association (BMA) has claimed that the new Health Select Committee report on reforms to UK medical training is a damning indictment of the UK government’s failure to listen to doctors. It said the report criticised the government... Read more

Almost 70 per cent of gynaecologists won’t perform abortions

14 May 2008 | Foreign News

Nearly 70 per cent of Italy’s gynaecologists refuse to perform abortions, citing ‘conscientious objections’, according to an Italian Health Ministry report covered by Agence France-Presse. This is up from 59 per cent in 2003. The percentage of anaesthetists who refuse... Read more

Medical tourist numbers 'lower than assumed'

14 May 2008 | Foreign News

Between 60,000 and 85,000 people travel abroad annually for inpatient hospital care, a number ‘far lower than commonly assumed’, according to a study reported by the Wall Street Journal. The McKinsey Study looked at the behaviour of almost 50,000 patients... Read more

Adherence to medication regimens can be improved

14 May 2008 | Features

Though is is difficult to get 100% compliance, it is possible to get higher levels of adherence to medication regimens with the right approach and teamwork. No matter how good the level of care provided by GPs or hospital staff,... Read more

Stoppages and strikes on horizon?

Ian McGuinness | 14 May 2008 | Features

Ian McGuinness writes on the industrial unrest within the health sector and wonders if we are in for a 'Summer of Discontent'. The Irish health services might be about to have a summer of discontent. With the Psychiatric Nurses Association... Read more

More funding needed for Spina Bifida

By Mary Anne Kenny | 12 May 2008 | Health Management

More State funding is needed if the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IASBAH) is to maintain its services, said the organisation’s Chief Executive, Mr George Kennedy. Speaking at the IASBAH annual conference in Cork last weekend, he said... Read more

New plan for NCHD training?

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has said they are in talks with various bodies to draw up the first ever training plan document for NCHDs, which they hope to present to the Irish Medical Organisation later this month. Mr John... Read more

35 extra teens could be cured in child facilities

Greg Baxter | 10 May 2008 | Research and Education

Many adolescents are slipping through the cracks when it comes to cancer care because they are not put on clinical trials and they are being treated with less-than-optimum protocols and in inappropriate pyschosocial settings. An additional 35 adolescents could be... Read more

Cutting back on cleaning

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Health Management

Some hospitals and nursing homes are being asked to cut back on detergents, a Fianna Fáil TD has said. Deputy Margaret Conlon told Irish Medical Times: “I am getting calls from people in different hospitals who are being asked to... Read more

No figures given on sale of lands

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Public Health

The Departments of Health and Finance have failed to state how much has been raised from the sale of psychiatric lands and buildings since A Vision For Change was published in January 2006. The document, adopted as Government policy, recommended... Read more

Ambulance service is 44 short of key personnel

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The ambulance service in the Health Service Executive West region is 44 personnel short of the staff complement it needs, the Labour Court heard. The trade union SIPTU told the Court that the HSE was employing private companies and agency... Read more

'Fair Deal' money should be used

Greg Baxter | 10 May 2008 | Planning and Development

Money earmarked for the State’s ‘Fair Deal’ plan on nursing homes should be released immediately to help fill an ‘unusually high number of vacancies’ that would normally be used by the HSE to relieve pressure on emergency departments, the CEO... Read more

New guidelines for point of care testing

10 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Minister for Health Mary Harney has launched the new ‘Guidelines for Safe and Effective Management and Use of Point of Care Testing’ at the RCPI. Point of care testing (POCT) refers to a laboratory medicine service using small... Read more

No support systems for brain-injured patients

Greg Baxter | 10 May 2008 | Health Management

Thousands of people every year who suffer acquired brain injury (ABI) have ‘absolutely no support’ after leaving hospital, a Beaumont Hospital neurologist has told Irish Medical Times. Dr Orla Hardiman said there is a massive un-met need, and many people... Read more

Monaghan docs protest to HSE

Sandra Ryan | 10 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Tension between doctors in the north east and the Health Service Executive (HSE) has increased after a new plan, called the ‘Treat, Stabilise and Transfer Protocol’, was introduced at Monaghan General Hospital - despite doctors’ protests over patient safety. As... Read more

OECD recommends two north-east hospitals

10 May 2008 | Planning and Development

Two hospitals are recommended for the north east in the recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report. The report on reforming the public sector states that, regarding the transformation programme in the north east, primary care teams need to... Read more

Children still being admitted to adult units

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Dozens of mentally-ill children are still being admitted to adult psychiatric units, according to the latest figures available. Statistics from the Mental Health Commission show that 92 children were admitted to psychiatric centres from the beginning of January until the... Read more

'Much to do' in health - Drumm

Mary Anne Kenny | 10 May 2008 | Health Management

Prof Brendan Drumm, HSE chief executive, acknowledged at the recent HSE National Achievement Awards ceremony that the Executive ‘has much to do’ to bring about the transformation of Ireland’s healthcare system, but he also emphasised the importance of focusing energies... Read more

20-bed adolescent service for Galway

Ian McGuinness | 10 May 2008 | Planning and Development

The Health Service Executive has said that it is going to begin a process that will lead to the construction of a 20-bed inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric building at Merlin Park Hospital in Galway. The HSE has said it... Read more

IBTS spends €2 on advertising campaign

10 May 2008 | Public Health

Nearly €2 million is going to be spent by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service on an advertising campaign. The Service awarded the tender, worth €1.8 million, to Cawley Nea, a well-known advertising firm based in Dublin. The campaign will, according... Read more

Hiring embargo leads to €5m bill

Gary Culliton | 10 May 2008 | Health Management

James Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown is facing an annual €5m bill for agency workers which has come about largely as a result of the recruitment embargo, Labour Party Deputy Joan Burton has charged. “The embargo is forcing hospitals like Connolly... Read more

Older people imprisoned

By Gary Culliton | 10 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

More than half of residents who have been prevented from leaving nursing homes and similar institutions have capacity to decide where they should live, according to Dr Shaun O’Keeffe, of the Department of Geriatric Medicine, at Galway’s Merlin Park Regional... Read more

E-health: Irish GPs not making the most of IT

09 May 2008 | Information Technology

A new EU report on the use of IT in GP practices across Europe shows that Ireland has a lot of catching up to do A new EU study shows that Ireland is just average when it comes to using... Read more

National Institute to collaborate on research

09 May 2008 | Research and Education

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) and US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is embarking on a research collaboration with Eli Lilly’s biologics research and development organisation at its headquarters in Indianapolis in the US. The collaboration will... Read more

Doctor wins right to contract

Ian McGuinness | 09 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Another Irish doctor has has won a contract of indefinite duration after the Labour Court overturned the findings of a Rights Commissioner. Dr Rahim Arefi was employed by the former South Eastern Health Board from 2000 to 2003. Following that,... Read more

€1,000 for Fat Cert

By Mary Anne Kenny | 09 May 2008 | Public Health

All students should be awarded €1,000 from the State after sitting their Leaving Certificate, an expert in obesity proposed last week – but only if they can complete a set number of 20-metre shuttle runs, have a healthy blood pressure... Read more

'Choking Game' an increasing worry for teens

By Greg Baxter | 09 May 2008 | Public Health

An increasing number of adolescents are using the so-called 'choking game' to get high, an adolescent psychiatrist has warned. Dr Keith Homes told Irish Medical Times that while the numbers remain small, the choking game is becoming a bigger problem... Read more

How do you tell your patients everything's fine when it's not?

Dr Illona Duffy | 09 May 2008 | Features

Dr Illona Duffy says the HSE has lost the plot about healthcare provision and now it's up to doctors Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse, they did. The HSE and more specifically Prof Brendan Drumm have... Read more

Social worker's appeal to work is disallowed

Ed Madden BL | 09 May 2008 | Medico-Legal

Ed Madden BL looks at a recent UK Care Standards Tribunal case in which a social worker appealed a decision stating he was unsuitable to work with children or vulnerable adults In 2004, Steven S., a US citizen who was... Read more

Pain Management for Arthritis sufferers

Ian McGuinness | 08 May 2008 |

Arthritis Ireland is running a pilot programme this month to teach sufferers of the condition how to manage their pain. Three workshops, each lasting three hours, will take place in Dublin, Cork and Limerick on 24, 27 and 28 of... Read more

Minister says both sides should attend LRC in psychiatric nurses dispute

Ian McGuinness | 08 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has said management and unions should attend talks at the Labour Relations Commission tomorrow, which are aimed at finding a resolution to the dispute behind the ongoing industrial action by psychiatric nurses. The Minister... Read more

No tribunals cancelled as a result of strike yet

Ian McGuinness | 06 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

No mental health tribunals have been cancelled or postponed so far as a result of the ongoing industrial action by psychiatric nurses, the Mental Health Commission has said. A spokesperson for the Commission told Irish Medical Times that no tribunals... Read more

Victim of a killing machine

Gary Culliton | 05 May 2008 | Features, Hospital Medicine

After removal of the wrong kidney during an operation at Crumlin Hospital, IMT looks back at a case where a Cork man, whom the health service 'failed at every point of contact', died as a result of medical bungling. One... Read more

E-health: Are 'robodocs' the way of the future in our hospitals?

05 May 2008 | Features, Information Technology

Robots are assisting with patient care in a growing number of US hospitals, but it seems unlikely that they will replace doctors and nurses any time soon. Could a combination of metallic parts and microchips ever provide the same level... Read more

Six doctors elected to Medical Council

Greg Baxter | 02 May 2008 | Regulation

The medical profession elected six medical practitioners to the new Medical Council, which will convene for its first meeting in June, the Council announced today. The six elected medical practitioners are: Dr Eamann Breatnach; Prof Gerard Bury; Dr Anne Clarke;... Read more

Irish-made drug still not available for MS sufferers

Sandra Ryan | 02 May 2008 | Regulation

An Irish-made life-saving drug used to treat multiple sclerosis, which is not properly available in Ireland, has received further backing from doctors after new research from the US showed Tysabri significantly increased the number of patients who were disease-free after... Read more

Tullamore patient-less

Gary Culliton | 02 May 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Despite hiring and paying more than one hundred extra staff, a flagship new hospital in the incoming Taoiseach’s constituency has still not admitted a single overnight patient nearly two years after its completion. A new push by HSE management to... Read more

Interns asked to act 'above grade'

Sandra Ryan | 02 May 2008 | Research and Education

A large national survey of GPs by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) has found that half of GPs plan to retire in the next 12 years. The survey aimed to determine the current state of general practice around... Read more

Pharmacists suspend plans to withdraw from drug schemes

Sandra Ryan | 01 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

The Irish Pharmacy Union has asked pharmacists to suspend their plans to withdraw from the community drugs schemes after an agreement was reached last night with the Health Service Executive (HSE). The Union said they are particularly pleased that the... Read more

New imaging technologies could avoid biopsies

Sandra Ryan | 01 May 2008 | Public Health

New digital imaging technology, now available in Ireland means over 80 per cent of breast cancer biopsies could be avoided. According to radiographer Jane Scannell, from Siemens Healthcare, the technology is not yet in use in Ireland, but is becoming... Read more

Barriers to healthcare hinder non-Catholics

Sandra Ryan | 01 May 2008 | Research and Education

A report examining health services for non-Catholic patients has found that many encounter significant barriers to accessing care due to the inadequate training of healthcare professionals and a lack of communication. The Health Research Board-funded report, entitled Health, Faith and... Read more

Rostering, hours and locums are focus in talks

Ian McGuinness | 01 May 2008 | Industrial Relations

Rostering, working hours and locum cover will be the IMO’s main focus in the ongoing NCHD contract negotiations. Mr Fintan Hourihan, Director of Industrial Relations with the IMO, said that while these issues will be the main ones, pay will... Read more

Menopause while women keep going

Sandra Ryan | 01 May 2008 | General Practice

A major new programme of research on the menopause by the Women’s Health Council (WHC) has found that HRT remains the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms - and also found little evidence that over-the-counter and alternative therapies make a... Read more