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Opinion: August 2008

CUH should retain endocrinology

Dr Mark Hannon | 29 August 2008 | Mark Hannon

Dr Mark Hannon says that the arguments for retaining the endocrinology/diabetes speciality in Cork University Hospital make sense for many good reasons. It is with a light heart that I type this, my first article in quite a while, as... Read more

Who should pay for third-level education?

Mick Molloy | 28 August 2008 | Mick Molloy

Dr Mick Molloy says that in today's economic climate, it makes sense that the beneficiaries of third-level education should pay for it August 2008 was the wettest on record since records began, apparently, and many students who finished their Leaving... Read more

Investigative journalists were deemed to be patients

Ed Madden | 27 August 2008 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, on a recent case in which a doctor appealed a UK Fitness to Practice Committee decision that investigative journalists who were conducting an enquiry into his internet practice should be regarded as patients. In or about 2000,... Read more

Obituary: Michael Ellis DeBakey

26 August 2008 | Guests

The death of Dr Michael De Bakey on 11 July 2008 has brought to an end almost a century of tireless work for the improvement of surgical treatment of major cardio-vascular disorders. I had the privilege of working with him... Read more

Olympics hide obesity reality

Dr John Ryan | 26 August 2008 | Letter from America

Has patient-led decison-making gone too far? Dr John Ryan writes from America on the growing problem of obesity and the right time to involve patients in decisons about their health. At ten o’clock last Saturday night I was out for... Read more

Missing out on outpatients

Dr Oliver Lynn | 26 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Editor, I read recently that almost 20 per cent of patients don’t show up for hospital appointments. The estimated cost of this process is €7 million. This is astonishing! As a practising vasectomist, for 20 years we have got... Read more

Taxpayers paying for NTPF tummy-tucks

Dr Damian Rutledge | 26 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Editor, I wish to congratulate the Minister for Health and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) on great use of our considerable resources! Yesterday I had a patient who had a breast reduction paid for under the NTPF last... Read more

Prognosis: terminal

Terence Cosgrave | 26 August 2008 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave writes that GPs' judgments on Minister Harney and Prof Drumm will matter little in the real world. If the results of the Irish Medical Times’ survey of general practitioners were actual medical results that had come back from... Read more

Will HPV vaccine promote under-age sex in young girls?

26 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Sir, The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, announced on August 5, 2008, that she has asked the HSE to prepare and submit a plan for the introduction of a human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination plan for 12-year-old... Read more

Will HSE accept responsibility?

Dr M Bhamjee | 26 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Editor, The cited reports (IMT, 15-22 August, www.imt.ie/news/2008/08/commission_says_no_to_safety_a.html) appear to be about patient safety in the medical realm only. But the source of patient safety could be due to management not employing secretaries to write reports, no social workers,... Read more

Delicate dealings with difficult patients

Rory Hafford | 20 August 2008 | Guests

Rory Hafford looks at the best ways to handle difficult patients and the subtle differences of communication. Medicine. Made up of the brightest and the best. Highly prepared professionals, carefully coached in the art of clinical diagnosis to an extraordinary... Read more

E-health: A new prescription for efficiency

19 August 2008 | Guests

A new robotic system, which automates the drug dispensing process, is now available in Ireland to help with the management of busy pharmacies A pharmacist in Achill Sound, Co. Mayo, has become the first in Ireland to install a Willach... Read more

Understanding is key

18 August 2008 | Guests

Low-income patients can be just as good at following medication regimens when they get a little assistance from a health professional. It is well recognised that people on low incomes have traditionally suffered poorer health than those who are more... Read more

Diary of a physician and a photographer

Dr Tina Buckley | 18 August 2008 | Guests

Dr Tina Buckley writes about her work as a physician (and a photojournalist) in Africa and the types of challenges a doctor faces in an environment where there is little back-up or support. I came to Kenya in the March... Read more

'Hands-down victory' for ED consultants

Greg Baxter | 18 August 2008 | Guests

Greg Baxter reports on the arbitrator's findings in the dispute over private fees for ED doctors. The IHCA has claimed a ‘hands-down’ victory over the HSE in the dispute over private fees for emergency medicine consultants, in which an arbitrator... Read more

Earthquake devastation

Dr Kevin Carson | 17 August 2008 | Guests

Dr Kevin Carson on the earthquake disaster that happened recently in China and the efforts of the Chinese and international bodies to aid the victims. On Monday, May 12, 2008 at 14.28 local time, a devastating earthquake, 8.0 on the... Read more

Pathology cuts strike Limerick this summer

Ian McGuinness | 17 August 2008 | Guests

Ian McGuinness writes that pathology services have been curtailed in the Mid-Western Hospital in Limerick due to cost-cutting measures. Staff shortages and cost-cutting measures have resulted in a curtailment of pathology services supplied by the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.... Read more

Designing for a dignified death

Paul Murray | 16 August 2008 | Guests

Paul Murray writes about recent efforts to improve end-of-life care in Ireland and an upcoming national audit of the palliative care provided in acute and community hospitals. Our attitudes to dying and death have been inexorably changing. In not much... Read more

It's gone to the dogs down in the Déise

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 16 August 2008 | Garrett FitzGerald

Dr Garrett FitzGerald writes that in the midst of economic instability, the people of Waterford have their own concerns about the co-located hospital that is being proposed for the region It’s important to get things clear in the mind. There... Read more

Act will change Medical Council

David Quinn | 15 August 2008 | Guests

David Quinn of Beauchamps Solicitors takes a look at the significant changes that have been introduced under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007. On 2 July last, the Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney announced that the new Medical Council,... Read more

New system shows service flaws

Gary Culliton | 15 August 2008 | Guests

Gary Culliton takes a look at Healthstat, the HSE's system of performance measurement indicators, which was introduced by the Executive this year. Huge areas of the health service that are in urgent need of improvement have been exposed by a... Read more

Salary secrets of HSE

Terence Cosgrave | 15 August 2008 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave asks why the HSE is so backward in coming forward with the salary details of its staff. It says a lot that the Health Service Executive, when advertising a position within its Communications Department, doesn’t mention the salary... Read more

Vitamin D and the dementia debate

Frederick N. Dyer, Ph.D. | 15 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Editor, There are anecdotal reports that boosting the typical very low levels of vitamin D in dementia patients reduced their dementia.... Read more

Creating a fair insurance system

Dr John Barton | 15 August 2008 | Letters

Dear Editor, Dr Mick Molloy, writing on the crisis in health insurance in the 25 July issue (www.imt.ie/opinion/2008/07/courts_decision_will_finally_s.html) has possibly inadvisedly placed himself in the BUPA health insurance camp when it comes to competition in health insurance.... Read more

Silence is golden when you turn off the phone

Dr Mick Molloy | 15 August 2008 | Mick Molloy

Dr Mick Molloy writes of the freedom that can be gained by turning off the mobile phone — and finds that he is not as indispensable as he thought he was. Dear Reader, You may be pleased to know that... Read more

A history of Ireland's social health insurance

Prof Pierce Grace | 14 August 2008 | Guests

Prof Pierce Grace takes a look at the history of healthcare and medical insurance in Ireland. Recently, the Adelaide Hospital Society brought the whole concept of social health insurance (SHI) to the fore in Ireland with the publication of two... Read more

LRC points to the value of mediation in medical negligence disputes

Ed Madden BL | 14 August 2008 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at the recently published Law Reform Commission Consultation Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution as it relates to medical negligence claims. On 30 July 2008, the Law Reform Commission Consultation Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution was launched... Read more

My alternate middle-class family in 2050

14 August 2008 | The Inside Back

A lecturer in economics at the University of Limerick last week published a op-ed in The Irish Times in which he predicted the state of middle-class Irish life in 2050. The question he asked himself was: “What trends can be... Read more

Don't assume, don't presume on tests

Dr Paul Heslin | 11 August 2008 | Guests

Dr Paul Heslin offers some helpful advice on how to deal with bureaucracy and how to get the best results (and peace of mind) for your patients. Do you have the HIV test result for my patient? Lab: No. It... Read more

Who will strike for a better health service?

Terence Cosgrave | 09 August 2008 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave writes that despite the prosperity of the Celtic Tiger era, we still need major improvements made to our health service. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be on the agenda of any of the social partners. The Celtic... Read more

Supreme Court allows appeal on behalf of Council

Ed Madden | 08 August 2008 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a Supreme Court case in which the Medical Council sought to overturn a High Court order preventing the Fitness to Practise Committee from examining complaints brought against a doctor. Michael Shine, who is now retired,... Read more

Monday night comedy with Damian Clark at the Woolshed Baa

08 August 2008 | The Inside Back

I’m not a fan of live stand-up comedy. It’s not that I don’t think it’s funny. I just hate to see anybody bomb, or lose it, or forget something. I can’t relax; I’m always waiting anxiously for some heckler to... Read more

Medical sports coverage is not all fun and games

Dr Mick Molloy | 07 August 2008 | Mick Molloy

Dr Mick Molloy writes that doctors should carefully consider whether or not they should provide medical services at sporting events. The phone calls will start coming in again soon to doctors throughout the country. Can you be our team doc?... Read more

The time for flower smelling

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 06 August 2008 | Garrett FitzGerald

Dr Garrett FitzGerald advises that we should take some time to smell the roses in retirement — and wonders if certain GAA umpires ever reach the end of their officiating lives. All the best psychologists and rural soothsayers are in... Read more

Supreme Court strikes down risk equalisation scheme

Ed Madden | 05 August 2008 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at the Supreme Court's decision that the Minister for Health exceeded her powers under the Health Insurance Act 1994 when she introduced a risk equalisation scheme to the private health insurance market. The Health Insurance Act... Read more

Journalists work overtime on issue of doctors overtime

Mick Molloy | 04 August 2008 | Mick Molloy

Dr Mick Molloy writes that he will have his phone switched off this Bank Holiday weekend and will be ignoring the media's inevitable coverage of doctors' salaries during the 'silly season'. Around this time of slow news every year, one... Read more

A submission by IDEA to the EPA

Dr Elizabeth Cullen | 01 August 2008 | Letters

The following letter has been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of IDEA. A chara, In the light of the fact that many organochlorine compounds are fat-soluble and not easily biodegraded, they are persistent and bioaccumulative, and bio-magnify... Read more

Court may have last word on abortion

01 August 2008 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave writes that the thorny issue of abortion may be just about to raise its head in Ireland once again — but this time, the debate may be between judges in Strasbourg, which might not be a bad thing.... Read more

“The world is the mirror of myself dying”

01 August 2008 | The Inside Back

What would you say if you were asked how large your head was in a mirror? Would you say that, if you stood very close to the mirror, the reflection of your face ought to be the same size as... Read more