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News: September 2008

Ireland ranked ninth for diabetes care

Gary Culliton | 30 September 2008 | Public Health

Ireland's diabetes care was ranked ninth in Europe in the first Euro Consumer Diabetes Index. Denmark led the Index followed by the UK, France and the Netherlands. The Diabetes Index compares care systems around Europe from a consumer point of... Read more

Kinsale PCT will offer wider range of services

Gary Culliton | 30 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The Kinsale Primary Care Team (PCT) was launched recently — an initiative involving all seven local GPs based in two medical practices with locally-based HSE professionals. In addition to existing HSE services, the Kinsale PCT will provide additional services such... Read more

Launch of strategy for dementia care

Gary Culliton | 30 September 2008 | Public Health

The Minister for Older People, Máire Hoctor TD, last week launched the report, ‘Social Space, Equal Place: The Social Club Model of Dementia Care.’ The report, which was undertaken by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, explores the impact of a... Read more

Nurse prescribing kicks off in Cork

Greg Baxter | 30 September 2008 | Research and Education

Six nurse prescribers are prescribing medication this week at Cork University Hospital (CUH), following completion of the Nurse/Midwife Prescribing Programme in conjunction with University College Cork (UCC). This is the first time that nurses have prescribed drugs in Cork, following... Read more

IMT provides Univadis news

30 September 2008 | Planning and Development

Irish Medical Times has combined with univadis®, the unique online medical portal, to provide Irish doctors with access to the latest in Irish medical news stories via a news feed. The IMT news feed will allow doctors to keep up-to-date... Read more

Manuceau fights ban

Gary Culliton | 29 September 2008 | Regulation

Dr Jerome Manuceau has told Irish Medical Times that he will appeal a move to strike him off the Medical Register to the High Court, in a bid to have the decision reversed. Dr Manuceau attended the Medical Council hearings... Read more

Judging of 2008 Awards completed

26 September 2008 | Research and Education

The judging of the Irish Healthcare Awards place has now taken place. The judges met last week at the Shelbourne Hotel to consider the merits of the record number of entries submitted this year for the Awards, which have grown... Read more

IMO to act on fees for GPs, if allowed

Ian McGuinnness | 26 September 2008 | General Practice

The Irish Medical Organisation is attempting to clarify whether the recently negotiated national partnership agreement will allow it to collectively represent general practitioners in negotiations. Under the agreement, the Government promised to exempt certain self-employed groups from competition law, although... Read more

HSE delayed taking action when it went over budget

Ian McGuinness | 26 September 2008 | Health Management

The HSE delayed taking action when it became apparent in 2007 that it was going to run over budget, the Comptroller and Auditor General’s latest annual report has said. The HSE was eventually €245 million over budget at the end... Read more

NEDOC move out of Navan Hospital

Ian McGuinness | 26 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

North East Doctor On Call is moving out of its centre in Navan Hospital because its members fear they will be left to treat casualty patients when Our Lady’s Hospital’s emergency department (ED) is closed by the HSE. The out... Read more

Cutbacks to drug services will be fought

Greg Baxter | 26 September 2008 | Public Health

The chairman of the South Inner City Local Drugs Task Force, Cllr Dermot Lacey, has warned that any attempt by Government to break free of its partnership with the drugs services sector will be met with resistance. The former Lord... Read more

Still time to submit disability views

Gary Culliton | 26 September 2008 | Health Management

Interested parties wishing to submit their views on HIQA’s draft National Quality Standards: Residential Settings for People with Disabilities can do so until the end of next month. The standards will provide a national framework to set out what a... Read more

Irish students lack depression smarts

Mary Anne Kenny | 25 September 2008 | Research and Education

A new study has revealed that although the majority of students in Ireland believe that depression is a very real problem, just over one-quarter (27 per cent) would know what to do if someone close to them was suffering from... Read more

Deaths could have been avoided — Reilly

Gary Culliton | 25 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Two tragic deaths at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital could have been prevented and chronic overcrowding is ‘at the heart of the issue’, Fine Gael Health Spokesman, Dr James Reilly has said. “This chronic overcrowding is due to an inability to discharge... Read more

Opposition to Cork co-location grows

Gary Culliton | 25 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

A number of groups have announced their intention to step up their campaign against co-locating private hospitals on public hospital sites. Ahead of this week’s planning inquiry in Cork, the Campaign for a Real Public Health Service says the plan... Read more

HIQA investigation of Ann Moriarty and Edel Kelly cases at Ennis General ordered by Harney

Greg Baxter | 24 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

An independent investigation of the management of quality and safety arrangements at Ennis General Hospital, following the latest national breast cancer misdiagnosis scandal, has been ordered by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney. The investigation will be carried out by... Read more

Patients need more time

Greg Baxter | 24 September 2008 | Research and Education

Child and adolescent psychiatrists need to spend less time in clinical meetings and more time seeing patients, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin has told Irish Medical Times. Prof Michael Fitzgerald, speaking following the launch... Read more

Proposed health centre to be used as a bank

Ian McGuinness | 24 September 2008 | Planning and Development

A building in Limerick that was to have been used as a medical centre and a library is to be turned into a bank instead. Dunnes Stores Limited and Kaithal Limited were granted permission to change the use of the... Read more

Bupa surplus falls by £156.5 million

Gary Culliton | 24 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

Bupa, Britain’s largest private medical insurance provider, saw its half-year pre-tax surplus fall by just over nine per cent to £156.5 million, largely due to its decision to quit the Irish market last year. The organisation, which as a provident... Read more

Irish language doctors to host a conference on ageing

Ian McGuinness | 23 September 2008 | Public Health

A group of doctors who hold frequent meetings through the medium of the Irish language are to stage their autumn gathering on Saturday, September 27 in St John of God’s Hospital in Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Acadamh na Líanna will host... Read more

Security standards issued for health

Greg Baxter | 23 September 2008 | Health Management

New standards on information security in the health sector have been issued by the International Organisation for Standards (ISO), an international body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. The new guidelines address the increasing use of wireless and... Read more

St James's to get new inpatient and research facility

Ian McGuinness | 23 September 2008 | Research and Education

A new inpatient and clinical research facility is to be built at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. Planning permission was recently granted to the largest hospital in Ireland for the three-storey building. A number of conditions were attached to the... Read more

Irish GP publishes novel

Greg Baxter | 23 September 2008 | General Practice

GP and medical columnist Dr Juliet Bressan has published a novel, called Snow White Turtle Doves, through Poolbeg Press. Dr Bressan is a full-time GP specialising in substance abuse, and works for a drugs and AIDS service she helped to... Read more

Keyhole surgery for high-risk patients in Blackrock

Mary Anne Kenny | 23 September 2008 |

A new type of surgery for high-risk heart patients was carried out for the first time in Ireland this month. The keyhole procedure, for patients suffering from aortic valve stenosis, was performed in in Blackrock Clinic on 10 September.... Read more

Stigma must be addressed

Ian McGuinness | 23 September 2008 | Health Management

Ireland should launch a campaign to combat the stigma associated with mental health, according to a new report on psychiatric illness and the economy. The document, The Economics of Mental Health Care in Ireland, which was written by Eamon O’Shea... Read more

IBTS row moves to Labour Court

Ian McGuinness | 23 September 2008 | Industrial Relations

A row between the IBTS and 150 donor attendants has ended up in the Labour Court. The IBTS wanted the attendants to use skills acquired in specific courses and it wanted to revise clinic opening times. SIPTU said the changes... Read more

UK Government decides against IPL deregulation

Gary Culliton | 23 September 2008 | Foreign News

The UK government has decided not to introduce laser and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) deregulation from October 2008. However, the proposals are still under consideration. The UK Government has confirmed that it has not yet decided to go ahead with... Read more

Survey on ADHD shows profound impact on families

Greg Baxter | 22 September 2008 | Health Management

On average, there is a four-year lag between the time when parents suspect their child may have a problem and the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a new survey has revealed. 'A Survey of ADHD in Irish Children',... Read more

CMH moving to a hospital?

Gary Culliton | 19 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

Moving the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) into the grounds of another Dublin hospital is now the most ‘realistic’ option sought by opponents of the mooted move to the Thornton Hall prison campus. Such a move would be likely to prompt... Read more

No HSE figures on budget over-runs

Greg Baxter | 19 September 2008 | Health Management

The HSE does not keep information on hospital budgetary over-runs centrally and cannot provide national, up-to-date figures on hospital overspend. Last week IMT asked the HSE to provide current information of budget overspend, following reports that Mayo General Hospital was... Read more

RCPI calls for patient identifier

Greg Baxter | 19 September 2008 | Public Health

The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland has called for the introduction of a single unique patient identifier for all Irish patients, calling the case of its introduction, through legislation, ‘inarguable’. In its submission to the Department of Health for... Read more

Night docs easier to access for commuters

Ian McGuinness | 19 September 2008 | General Practice

Some patients are using North East Doctor On Call simply because it is easier to access than their own doctor’s surgery and they have to wait less time to see a GP. The issue was discussed at NEDOC’s annual general... Read more

Cross-border GP scheme to be extended soon

Ian McGuinness | 19 September 2008 | General Practice

Talks are under way to try to extend a cross-border GP out of hours scheme currently operating in Monaghan and south Armagh. The AGM of North East Doctor On Call — which took place last week in Trim, Co. Meath... Read more

Karl Henry meets Minister Harney

Gary Culliton | 18 September 2008 | Public Health

Karl Henry, the husband of Ann Moriarty, who died of breast cancer after being given the all-clear at two hospitals, met with Health Minister Harney yesterday and now says he is hopeful that an independent inquiry will be held. Following... Read more

Savings of €100m still possible

Gary Culliton | 18 September 2008 | Public Health

Savings of €100 million through better distribution arrangements under the Community Drugs Scheme are still achievable, in spite of last week’s High Court judgment, Health Minister Mary Harney has told Irish Medical Times. She pointed to larger savings which have... Read more

Index to measure care for diabetics

Gary Culliton | 18 September 2008 | Public Health

A ‘Diabetes Index’, which covers all 27 EU Member States as well as Norway and Switzerland, will be launched on 30 September. It ranks the consumer-friendliness of diabetes care across Europe for the first time. The Index will allow patients... Read more

IMB teams up with IPHA

Greg Baxter | 18 September 2008 | Public Health

A new collaboration bet-ween the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) and the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) is expected to increase the number of health professionals who report suspected adverse reactions to drugs. IPHA has enhanced its website, www.medicines.ie, as well... Read more

New 64-slice CT scanner for CUH

Gary Culliton | 18 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

A new state-of-the-art, 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner has been purchased for Cork University Hospital (CUH). The scanner cost €1.1 million and will be used to scan patients with cancer, cardiac and neurology-related illnesses. The main advantage of the new... Read more

Almost 5,000 more get medical cards

Ian McGuinness | 18 September 2008 | Health Management

An extra 5,000 people have medical cards this month compared to August, the latest figures have revealed. The statistics from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service show that there were 4,621 additional patients with full medical cards at the beginning of... Read more

Older volunteers needed

Mary Anne Kenny | 18 September 2008 | Research and Education

Scientists from UCC, Cork area hospitals and Teagasc are looking for people to take part in a new project, which aims to improve digestive health in older people through a better understanding of intestinal bacteria. The ELDERMET project is investigating... Read more

HIQA issue draft disability standards

Gary Culliton | 17 September 2008 | Regulation

New HIQA standards will require a policy that ensures informed consent is obtained from individuals with disabilities prior to any medical treatment or intervention, participation in research projects or provision of personalised information. HIQA’s Draft National Quality Standards on Residential... Read more

Hibernian opens ‘express’ urgent care centre

Mary Anne Kenny | 17 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

Hibernian Health has launched its new Xpress Med Urgent Care Centre in Dublin’s city centre, which it claims is ‘the first consultant-led alternative to A&E in Ireland’. Since Monday, people aged four and over who need emergency care for minor... Read more

IMO urge booze scales, higher spirits tax

Gary Culliton | 17 September 2008 | Public Health

The IMO has urged the Government to introduce a sliding scale of alcohol taxes, with the lowest tax on low-alcohol beer and the highest tax on spirits, in its 2009 pre-Budget submission. In its submission, the IMO called on the... Read more

Dental difficulties for medical card holders in Carlow

Gary Culliton | 17 September 2008 | Health Management

Medical card holders in rural Carlow face difficulties getting treatment due to the withdrawal of a number of local dentists from the Dental Treatment Services Scheme. Health Minister Mary Harney revealed in a parliamentary question recently that 190 of the... Read more

Survey reports over half Irish adults support pharmacists

Alan Deeley | 17 September 2008 | Health Management

An independent survey has reported that 51 per cent of Irish adults support pharmacists in their row with the HSE, while only 18 per cent believe the HSE is in the right. Since March, the HSE has cut reimbursements to... Read more

Innovation nets €50,000

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The introduction of the ‘Teaghlach’ model of care at Clonakility Community Hospital has seen the hospital being rewarded with additional funding of D50,000, which is part of the HSE’s Innovation Fund 2008. The new approach to caring for patients will... Read more

Beacon launch website for the obese

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

Celebrity chef Derry Clarke this week helped launch Beacon Hospital’s new website on obesity in conjunction with the hospital’s new weight-loss surgery programme. Beacon Hospital is the first full-service independent hospital in Ireland to offer weight-loss surgery. The website, www.obesityireland.ie,... Read more

Clinic to serve 'Dublin and beyond'

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The average number of patients seen per day at the Hermitage Medical Clinic’s Emergency Department (ED) is between ten and 15 and since opening on May 26, up to 600 patients have been seen there. Up to 150 of these... Read more

NCHD overtime deleted

June Shannon | 12 September 2008 | Industrial Relations

THE Irish Medical Organisation has raised serious concerns that management at Mayo General Hospital (MGH) has allegedly altered details of consultant-approved NCHD unrostered overtime on time-sheets and reworked them to reflect core hours only. The claim has been strongly refuted... Read more

HPSC warns of E. coli well threat

Gary Culliton | 12 September 2008 | Public Health

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has strongly advised householders who use water from private wells to ensure that their wells are properly maintained, following an increase in Verotoxigenic E.coli (VTEC) cases. Some 139 VTEC cases have been reported so... Read more

Health needs more funds

Greg Baxter | 12 September 2008 | Health Management

The IHCA has called for a nine per cent increase in revenue spending on health in the 2009 Budget, and a significant increase in capital spend. The IHCA has recommended, in its pre-Budget submission, that revenue expenditure be increased from... Read more

New system to estimate CVD risk in older people

By Gary Culliton, reporting from Munich | 12 September 2008 | Research and Education

A new system for estimating risk of total coronary vascular disease (CVD) in the older age group, called SCORE ELD, was outlined by Tallaght Hospital research cardiologist Dr Marie Therese Cooney, at last week’s Congress of the European Society of... Read more

New guidelines issued to manage pneumonia risk

11 September 2008 | Public Health

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), in collaboration with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), has issued guidance to improve the safety of patients in the NHS in England and Wales by reducing the risk of pneumonia... Read more

New Chief Medical Officer for DoH

Gary Culliton | 11 September 2008 | Health Management

The Department of Health has advertised for the post of Chief Medical Officer to replace the outgoing Dr James Kiely who is taking up a job as medical officer to Irish Aid. The Chief Medical Officer advises the Minister and... Read more

'Ill-equipped' new GPs to get helping hand at conference

11 September 2008 | General Practice

MOST establishing GPs feel ill-equipped to cope with the realities of general practice in Ireland today, according to Dr Shane McKeogh, Project Director of the ICGP’s Network of Establishing GPs (NEGs). Speaking to Irish Medical Times ahead of the upcoming... Read more

Woman dies from cancer after receiving 'all-clear' diagnosis

Terence Cosgrave | 10 September 2008 | Features, Hospital Medicine

A woman that was given the ‘all-clear’ from cancer in April 2007 was diagnosed as having terminal cancer four months later and died last April. On 25 April 2008 Ann Moriarty, aged 53, died in Cahercalla Community Hospital, Ennis, of... Read more

Radiology delays 'were significant'

Gary Culliton | 10 September 2008 | Public Health

Delays in diagnosis of a number of patients’ lung cancers “were of significance” in the care those patients received, the report of the lookback enquiry into radiology in the northeast will find. Treatment delays of several months between missed x-ray... Read more

'No question' of defective x-ray equipment in north east lookback

Gary Culliton | 10 September 2008 | Public Health

External examiners who visited the hospitals at the centre of the north-east radiology enquiry have confirmed that there is ‘absolutely no question’ of defective x-ray equipment at either site. And a letter obtained by IMT, from Mr Des O’Flynn, Group... Read more

Games to win on organ donations

10 September 2008 | Foreign News

The Irish team for the fifth European Transplant and Dialysis Games, which will take place in Wurzburg, Germany, from August 31 to September 6 was finalised last week. The European Transplant and Dialysis Games aim to highlight the importance of... Read more

Medical card holders unable to use clinic

Mary Anne Kenny | 10 September 2008 | Health Management

Medical-card holders can no longer access treatment at the Irish Family Planning Association’s (IFPA’s) main clinic in Dublin, due to a lack of funding from the Health Service Executive (HSE). The IFPA was forced to suspend services to GMS patients... Read more

Valentine’s Day test for medical aptitude

Alan Deeley | 10 September 2008 | Research and Education

The State will test the aptitude of Leaving Cert students eager to study medicine on February 14 next, in a process aimed at attracting. more suitable candidates to medicine – but fifteen years will pass before patients see the impact... Read more

International experience can help Irish medicine deal with problems here

Alan Deeley | 09 September 2008 | Foreign News

More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year globally, putting today’s mortality figures on maternal health at the ‘same point as 20 years ago’. Calling for action on the issue, Fine Gael MEP Colm Burke... Read more

Home births down in 2005

Alan Deeley | 09 September 2008 | Public Health

ESRI figures for 2005 show that planned domiciliary births decreased for the second year running — a development the Homebirth Association of Ireland attributes to centralisation and insurance changeovers being more important than growing demand. Co-ordinator Ms Krysia Lynch told... Read more

More calls to hit smoking in Budget

Alan Deeley | 09 September 2008 | Public Health

Minister Brian Lenihan may not have an abundance of options this October 14, but yet another doctor has suggested he turn to cigarettes for Budget 2009 – and announce a substantial increase in the cost of each pack. Dr Fenton... Read more

Pharmacists register online

09 September 2008 | Regulation

Patients and the wider public can now check online for free to see if pharmacists are registered with the pharmacy regulator, as the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) implements the latest phase of the Pharmacy Act 2007. All interested parties... Read more

NICE issue guidelines to reduce risk of pneumonia in patients on ventilator

Gary Culliton | 08 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in collaboration with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued guidance to improve the safety of patients in the NHS in England and Wales by reducing the risk of pneumonia... Read more

Students showcase software solutions

08 September 2008 | Features, Hospital Medicine

Software systems which have been developed by UCC students could have a major positive impact on patient care. Students from University College Cork have developed innovative software systems that could change the way in which emergency units, sudden cardiac death... Read more

IHCA calls for nine per cent increase in health spending

Greg Baxter | 08 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

The IHCA has called for a nine per cent increase in revenue spending on health in the 2009 Budget, and a significant increase in capital spend. The IHCA has recommended, in its pre-Budget submission, that revenue expenditure be increased from... Read more

Study says attacks can be cut

Alan Deeley | 08 September 2008 | Public Health

Managing the heart rate of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who have already suffered one attack can cut cardiac arrests by a third, the far-reaching international study ‘Beautiful’ revealed this week. Irish investigator Dr John Barton told the Irish Medical... Read more

Study will impact PD care

By Mary Anne Kenny | 08 September 2008 | Research and Education

Results from a new study have the potential to completely change the way Parkinson’s disease (PD) is treated, delegates at the 12th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Madrid heard last week. The results from the ADAGIO... Read more

UPMC to open 25 new cancer centres in EU and the Middle East

Gary Culliton | 08 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center wants to build 25 new cancer centres in Europe and the Middle East in the next decade, which would be similar to UPMC’s two facilities in Ireland. UPMC’s executive vice president Chuck Bogosta says... Read more

No 'glut' of applications for State-acquired HIV

Alan Deeley | 08 September 2008 | Public Health

People with State Acquired Hepatitis C or HIV are well informed of the approaching State insurance deadline, and there will be ‘no glut’ of applications in the closing days, according to a leading representative. The Government Insurance Scheme open period... Read more

Oral hearing on Cork hospital starts this month

Gary Culliton | 05 September 2008 | Hospital Medicine

An Bord Pleanala has scheduled a four day oral hearing starting on 23 September, for an appeal against the granting of planning permission for the proposed €242 million co-located hospital in Cork. The hearing will take place in the Cork... Read more

Polish company opens clinic in Waterford and has plans for more

Gary Culliton | 05 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

Polish medical company EMC opened a new clinic in Waterford last week, and plans are afoot for an operating theatre on Parnell Square as well as more new premises in Dublin and Galway. Unlike the Parnell Square centre, the Waterford... Read more

Researcher backs low suicide claims

Alan Deeley | 05 September 2008 | Public Health

A leading researcher on suicide believes the death toll in Ireland is again being masked by inquests citing undetermined intent. Dr Ella Arensman of the National Suicide Research Foundation issued cautious support for the claims of TD Dan Neville, who... Read more

Outbreak of mumps affects 20 in Mayo

Alan Deeley | 05 September 2008 | Public Health

More than a score of people are now believed to have contracted mumps in the Claremorris region of Mayo – including some in their twenties who said they had been vaccinated. Ballindine-based GP Dr Ken Egan commented to Irish Medical... Read more

€13 million to be spent on security by HSE

Ian McGuinness | 05 September 2008 | Health Management

Nearly €13 million is being spent on security in two areas of Ireland by the Health Service Executive (HSE). Contracts were awarded recently to two companies for a total of €12,809,535. The notification of the awarding of the contracts explained... Read more

Health needs to be part of overall government policy

By Alan Deeley | 05 September 2008 | Public Health

A new report argues for holistic policy-making for health across all Government departments, allowing the Department of Health some rest from criticism. The authors – the Combat Poverty Agency and the Institute of Public Health – claim that many of... Read more

VHI on target for insurance licence

Gary Culliton | 05 September 2008 |

The VHI has said it is still on target to obtain an insurance licence from the financial regulator in January 2009, despite media reports that the Department of Health has questioned the future viability of the VHI as a result... Read more

Large hike in price of cigarettes needed

Gary Culliton | 05 September 2008 | Public Health

The Medical Director of the Irish Heart Foundation has called for a 20 to 30 per cent increase in the price of cigarettes, saying this is needed to keep pace with inflation. “Research has shown that when the excise duty... Read more

Patient group still has questions about Lourdes Hospital/Neary inquiry

By Alan Deeley | 04 September 2008 | Medico-Legal

The National Birth Alliance has said that the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme was drawn up with three things in mind: meagre rewards, ‘financial rectitude’ for the Department, and a mathematical approach to suffering. The Alliance’s Ms Marie O’Connor told Irish... Read more

Alzheimer's problems controlled

Terence Cosgrave | 04 September 2008 | Public Health

New data reported in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry has shown that behavioural problems in Alzheimer’s patients can be controlled and the emergence of new behavioural problems can be delayed by drug treatments. Antipsychotic medications have been commonly used... Read more

GPs should push First Aid courses

Alan Deeley | 04 September 2008 | General Practice

GPs around the country can impart some simple and potentially life-saving advice this week – by telling patients about the Irish Red Cross- accredited first-aid courses starting around the country. The organisation’s Mr Fintan Breen has stated that a sick... Read more

Trans-Atlantic lectures to begin at UCD

04 September 2008 | Research and Education

University College Dublin and University of Kentucky will begin a new period of collaboration through a transatlantic lecture series beginning September 25. Prof. William Powderly, head of the school of medicine and medical sciences at UCD, said the focus of... Read more

Disability will feel the cutbacks first, say Irish family doctors

04 September 2008 | Health Management

Disability and hospital services will be the first to be hit by cutbacks imposed on the Health Service Executive (HSE) by the Government, according to the Irish Medical Times survey of general practitioners. Disability was cited as the number one... Read more

Trim care home opens

Gary Culliton | 04 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

Barchester has opened its first care home in Ireland. The Knightsbridge Village, situated in Trim, County Meath, offers a choice of living options, from a residential care home with nursing care to housing and apartments for independent living. Knightsbridge Village... Read more

Breakthrough in understanding of cell suicide that hinders cancer chemotherapy

Alan Deeley | 02 September 2008 | Research and Education

Irish researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding how cell suicide is regulated, with potential knock-on benefits for therapies fighting cancer. The Trinity College team, led by Prof. Seamus Martin, discovered the Bcl-2 gene family 'double jobs' to perform two... Read more

Students warned to get two doses of MMR vaccine

Gary Culliton | 01 September 2008 | Public Health

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has warned all students to make sure that they have had two doses of the MMR vaccine following an increase in the number of mumps cases reported in recent weeks. Mumps has been on the... Read more

Setback to plans for Portlaoise centre

Ian McGuinness | 01 September 2008 | Planning and Development

Plans for a single-storey medical centre in Portlaoise have been set back after a decision by the local council to grant permission was appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Tom and Deirdre Dwyer applied to Laois County Council for their planned... Read more

Beacon: new scanner to lessen radiation

Gary Culliton | 01 September 2008 | Private Healthcare

An 83 per cent reduction in radiation dose for cardiac CT patients is claimed following the launch of the LightSpeed VCT XT Scanner at Dublin’s Beacon Hospital. The first patients were treated with the newly upgraded scanner at Beacon on... Read more