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Opinion: September 2009

What a difference a day makes in the law

Ed Madden, BL | 29 September 2009 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent Labour Court decision in which a determination on an appeal against a Rights Commissioner's recommendation was within the statutory time limit... Read more

IHCA celebrates 20 years of daily struggles

Greg Baxter | 29 September 2009 | Guests

Greg Baxter writes on the evolution of the IHCA since its first AGM 20 years ago... Read more

Consultants 'open to persuasion' on scheme

Dara Gantly | 29 September 2009 |

Vice President of the IHCA Dr John O’Dea tells Dara Gantly that he remains to be convinced of the benefit of the Medical Council’s professional competence scheme... Read more

Amritsar and the Irish connections

Prof Pierce Grace | 29 September 2009 |

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, which contributed to the independence of India and Pakistan. Prof Pierce Grace traces the history of the British Raj and the events that led to the killings... Read more

East African medicine — a graduate medical students' perspective

Eilish Foran | 29 September 2009 | Guests

Eilish Foran, a first-year graduate medical student, University of Limerick writes that while she didn't learn a lot about medicine in Zanzibar, she did have a rewarding and enlightening experience... Read more

Advance care directives: prospects for legislation

Madeleine Delaney | 29 September 2009 | Guests

Madeleine Delaney of Beauchamps Solicitors outlines the framework suggested by the Law Reform Commission for the introduction of legisation on Advanced Care Directives... Read more

Dissatisfaction with headache care

Dara Gantly | 29 September 2009 | Guests

Headache sufferers in Europe wait an average of nine years between their first consultation with a health professional and being prescribed preventive medication, reports Dara Gantly... Read more

Lisbon lies and hype

Terence Cosgrave | 25 September 2009 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave says that outlandish claims about Lisbon are now being used to create media 'stories'... Read more

Children get fat on TV diet

Niamh Mullen | 25 September 2009 | Guests

By 2010 the number of overweight children in the European Union will be increasing at a rate of one million per year. Niamh Mullen reports... Read more

Reform of Ireland's health service by a thousand cuts

Dara Gantly | 25 September 2009 | Guests

In its proposed cuts, An Bord Snip Nua went much further than the Department of Health initially recommended, reports Dara Gantly... Read more

She who fails to plan, plans to fail

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 24 September 2009 | Garrett FitzGerald

Dr Garrett FitzGerald writes that regardless of whether your health cover is Plan A, Plan B or whatever, it seems that the Minister has no proper plans for the health system at all... Read more

Safety of patients is paramount

Dr Mark Hannon | 24 September 2009 | Mark Hannon

Dr Mark Hannon highlights a number of serious problems in the implementation of rosters that aim to comply with the European Working Time Directive... Read more

Finding downtime can be difficult

Dr Paul Stewart | 24 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Paul Stewart writes that it is very difficult for a doctor to go on holiday and leave the day job behind, as there is invariably somebody looking for medical help or even a prescription... Read more

Even on a fine day our 'Inside Back' columnist sees gloom and doom

24 September 2009 | The Inside Back

Whenever there is sun in Dublin, there is a lot of traffic and activity, and generally people look absolutely miserable until they get to their destination, at which point they realise the only way they know how to have fun... Read more

The European Empire

24 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, It is certainly that time of year again, the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ to which Gerard Manley Hopkins referred. To many of us, it is a time of year to be dreaded as, apart from the... Read more

Urine testing is a waste of time

24 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, I would like to echo Dr Cathal Ó Súilliobháin’s views on urine testing in the field of addictions (‘Taking the piss: is HSE drug testing wasting millions?’, IMT September 11, www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/09/taking_the_piss_is_hse_drug_te.html). The international research shows that drug screens... Read more

HSE did not consult GPs

24 September 2009 | Letters

Re: HSE claims re GP failure to engage with ambulance SOP protocols in the mid-west. Dear Editor, Your front page article of 18/09/09 quoted HSE claims that GPs failed to respond to invitations to develop emergency services protocols arising from... Read more

Dr Duffy cannot accept primary care has changed

24 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, I read with great disdain the article by Dr Illona Duffy (‘Let down yet again by improvements’ IMT 11/9/’09, www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/09/let_down_yet_again_by_improvem.html). First I would like to apologise to Prof Keane for comments made on his nationality and say not... Read more

Appreciation: Dr Alphonsus T Greene (Foncie)

24 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Alphonsus T Greene (Foncie) died on November 6, 2008 after a short illness. Foncie, as he was universally known, was for many years an outstanding clinician, teacher and practitioner of the Art of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Coombe... Read more

Doctor was lacking in candour and credibility

Ed Madden, BL | 23 September 2009 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL on a case in which a doctor claimed that Ulster Bank had given him assurances that substantial monies lodged by him would not be offset against a guarantee he had earlier given, in respect of a loan... Read more

Famine in an evidence glut: the practice of evidence-based medicine today

Dr John Wallace | 23 September 2009 | Guests

Dr John Wallace looks at the essential steps of evidence-based practice and guides us through the process of forming questions, finding evidence and assessing the facts... Read more

Sims: butcher or saviour?

Dr Robert O'Sullivan | 23 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Robert O'Sullivan looks at the controversial legacy of Dr James Marion Sims, who developed a treatment for fistulae by operating on slave women... Read more

A grape way to fund French medical charity

Prof Pierce Grace | 23 September 2009 | Guests

Prof Pierce Grace takes a look at the long history of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction, the proceeds of which go to charity... Read more

All systems go for flu tracking in the North

23 September 2009 | Guests

As we approach the winter season, Northern Ireland prepares to launch its first flu surveillance system to track the development of the flu virus... Read more

Investing in Irish health

23 September 2009 | Guests

Cork-based pharmaceutical company Recordati sponsors the Best Patient Education – Non Pharma category for this year’s Irish Healthcare Awards... Read more

Lisbon vote tests our will to act for others

Terence Cosgrave | 18 September 2009 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave writes that Ireland has traditionally tried to have it both ways on international relationships. The Lisbon vote forces us to accept it's now either time for us to accept our wider international responsibilities, or shut up about them... Read more

Adoption of OECD health accounts urged

Dara Gantly | 18 September 2009 | Guests

The IMO has told the Expert Group on Resource Allocation and Financing that health spending must become more transparent, reports Dara Gantly... Read more

New technology helps doctors and patients

June Shannon | 18 September 2009 | Guests

June Shannon speaks to Prof Tim O'Brien, Director of the Gait Laboratory, about how technological developments have helped him in his personal and professional life... Read more

Re-engineering youth mental health

Dara Gantly | 18 September 2009 | Guests

Although the mind-set and leadership is present, Ireland still lacks the resources to transform youth mental-health services, Prof Pat McGorry tells Dara Gantly... Read more

Clerical error steals the show at All-Ireland finals

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 17 September 2009 | Garrett FitzGerald

Dr Garrett FitzGerald was at the recent All-Ireland hurling final between Tipperary and Kilkenny and writes that the senior match was an anti-climax after events from earlier in the day... Read more

Profit wins over savings

Dr Mick Molloy | 17 September 2009 | Mick Molloy

Some worthy initiatives will probably never be brought to fruition because, although the ideas might save money, nobody would actually make a profit, writes Dr Mick Molloy... Read more

Focus on obstacles faced by females

Dr John Ryan | 17 September 2009 | Letter from America

Dr John Ryan wonders if the HPAT is good or bad for Irish medicine and writes that the focus should be on the obstacles faced by female physicians in trying to become established... Read more

The Lisbon vote: who to believe?

17 September 2009 | The Inside Back

The first thing I’m going to do if the ‘Yes’ vote for the Lisbon Treaty is victorious is get an abortion. The doctor may say to me: “Hey, men can’t get abortions!” But I’ll say, “I now have a constitutional... Read more

Good reasons to vote 'no'

17 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, In my opinion, there are no compelling reasons to vote for the Lisbon Treaty, and several good reasons to vote against it - not least the fact that the European Union has survived since the treaty was first... Read more

Woman would have terminated pregnancy

Ed Madden, BL | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent Scottish court case in which a woman claimed that had she been told that her unborn son had cystic fibrosis, she would have terminated the pregnancy... Read more

Challenges in a land of contrasts and culture

Dr Cillian Clancy | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Cillian Clancy writes about his experiences earlier this year while spending six months working in Zambia — which, despite the poverty of the patients and lack of facilities, was extremely rewarding... Read more

Can belief in faith healing delay patient recovery?

Greg Baxter | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Greg Baxter writes that a patient's belief in faith healing could jeopardise their recovery from illness, according to a new study by University of Ulster researcher Prof Tony Cassidy... Read more

Can 'grind' schools help with HPAT preparation?

Niamh Mullen | 16 September 2009 | Guests

A plethora of courses on how to prepare for the controversial Health Professionals Assessment Test will be offered around the country in the coming months, writes Niamh Mullen... Read more

Specialist centre is needed to scan obese patients

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Gary Culliton reports on a study that has analysed Irish radiology departments' ability to cope with patients of increasing size and weight... Read more

Labs must aid reform process

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Gary Culliton takes a look at the recommendations contained in the recent Teamwork Report with regard to the organisation of laboratories in Ireland... Read more

A lot done, but still more to do in coronary care

Dara Gantly | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Dara Gantly reports on a new survey of 16 European countries, which shows that Ireland's rate of mortality from heart disease ranks mid-table... Read more

Discovery could develop more efficient vaccines

Gary Culliton | 16 September 2009 | Guests

A protein called TAG, newly discovered by Trinity College researchers, could be pivotal in the development of vaccine research, writes Gary Culliton... Read more

Will so-called savings cost in future?

Greg Baxter | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Greg Baxter reports on an expert's view that cost-cutting on important medical technology is a bankrupt philosophy... Read more

Patients get more advice on OTCs

16 September 2009 | Guests

A new Irish website aims to provide patients with information and advice on over-the-counter medicines and a special ‘Find a Pharmacist’ service... Read more

Freedom of information legislation: a basic guide

Elaine Healy | 16 September 2009 | Guests

Elaine Healy of Beauchamps Solicitors takes a look at the terms and conditions of the Freedom of Information Acts and lists some of the healthcare bodies covered under the legislation... Read more

Lies, lies and Lisbon

Terence Cosgrave | 11 September 2009 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave opens up the debate on the Lisbon Treaty with a typically fair and balanced editorial... Read more

Changes ahead for northeast hospitals

Gary Culliton | 11 September 2009 | Guests

Gary Culliton reports on the changes to the provision of services in Louth and Meath hospitals about which staff were briefed last week... Read more

Obesity surgery abroad leads to follow-up care problems

Niamh Mullen | 11 September 2009 | Guests

Niamh Mullen speaks to Cork-based obesity consultant Mr Colm O'Boyle about the developing specialty of laparoscopic bariatric surgery... Read more

Explosion of sickle cell disease could mean early deaths

Gary Culliton | 11 September 2009 | Guests

Gary Culliton reports on the lack of a comprehensive service programme for a very vulnerable patient group... Read more

Fellowship winner helps patients to smile again

Niamh Mullen | 11 September 2009 | Guests

An RCSI student won the Operation Smile Ireland Medical Student Fellowship, writes Niamh Mullen... Read more

Poor standards in NHS nursing care

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 10 September 2009 | Garrett FitzGerald

Dr Garrett FitzGerald writes that the scandal that occurred in the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust will have implications for the future of the UK's famous health system... Read more

Questions remain about swine flu despite the media hype

10 September 2009 | Mick Molloy

Dr Mick Molloy reports from Boston on some of the preparations that are being made there to control the potential damage caused by workers being out sick with swine flu... Read more

Let down yet again by 'improvements'

Dr Illona Duffy | 10 September 2009 | Ilona Duffy

Dr Illona Duffy airs some grievances that she has been nursing regarding the cervical screening programme and cancer 'centres of excellence'... Read more

Why, oh why, don't patients comply?

Karen O'Keefe | 10 September 2009 | Guests

Karen O'Keefe looks at some of the reasons why patients do not follow their treatment regimems... Read more

My four-month-old son to sail solo around the world in a yacht

G.B. | 10 September 2009 | The Inside Back

Some Dutch or Danish girl wants to sail around the world at 13 years old? Seriously? Well, why the f*%@ not, I guess. When I was 13, I wanted to watch ‘Airwolf’ and skip school so I could catch the... Read more

Clearing up the confusion about saturated fats

10 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, Re: ‘Saturated fats – can someone clear up the confusion?’ (IMT 21/8’09, www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/08/saturated_fats_can_someone_cle_1.html). There should be no confusion about the benefits of dietary saturated fats! Current dietary guidelines in respect of saturated fat restriction reflect American Heart Association... Read more

Minister's 'notable inaccuracies' on cancer

10 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor Minister Harney’s address to the LiveStrong Global Cancer Summit, as reported in Irish Medical Times of 28/8/’09 (‘Cancer strategy threat from vested interests’, www.imt.ie/news/2009/08/harney_pledges_to_drive_suppor.html), contained several notable and tendentious inaccuracies. 1. The Minister’s reference to the role of... Read more

Sligo downgrading a cause for serious concern

10 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, The centralisation of services sounds very well in theory, but not always in practice. Writing as someone who has been in general practice for 55 years and as the longest surviving past president of the ICGP, I should... Read more

New dawn for South Africa?

10 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, The decision of South African Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, and leading South African scientists to openly challenge the governing ANC party on its deeply flawed record on AIDS recently in The Lancet must be embraced. Although the... Read more

Practitioner’s 'moral radar went out of commission'

Ed Madden, BL | 09 September 2009 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent English High Court case in which an osteopath continued to work during a period when he was suspended by his regulatory body... Read more

Remembering the 'Lion of the Senate'

Dr Seán Callan | 09 September 2009 |

Dr Seán Callan recalls a close encounter he had with the recently deceased Ted Kennedy and wonders if much has changed over the years in American politics... Read more

On your bike in lovely Leitrim and Cavan countryside

Prof Paul Finucane | 09 September 2009 | Guests

Prof Paul Finucane — Irish Medical Times's biking correspondent — reports on a two-wheeled journey through counties Leitrim and Cavan... Read more

Can doctors in government really make a difference?

Dr Dermot Walsh | 09 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Dermot Walsh reports on Lord Darzi — who studied for medicine in Ireland — and who was, until recently, prominent in drawing up a constitution for the National Health Service in the UK... Read more

Taking the piss: is HSE drug testing wasting millions?

Dr Cathal Ó Súilliobháin | 09 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Cathal Ó Súilliobháin — a GP working in addiction counselling — writes that the current policy of weekly testing is costly and not evidence-based... Read more

The day the Wall came down — memories of Berlin '89

Dr Patrick Treacy | 09 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Patrick Treacy recounts a famous night twenty years ago in Berlin, when both communism and the Berlin Wall collapsed... Read more

Hospitals harness social networking technology

09 September 2009 | Guests

A study has found that growing numbers of hospitals across Europe are making use of social networking and media tools, like Facebook and blogs... Read more

Amended code won't save children

Terence Cosgrave | 04 September 2009 | Editorial

Terence Cosgrave writes that Ireland must not allow children to become victims of its institutional system and that the only way to solve problems in the mental health service is to establish an independent Directorate... Read more

The cost of safe blood

Dara Gantly | 04 September 2009 | Guests

In the final part of a three-part investigation, Dara Gantly asks whether it is legitimate to apply standard health economic arguments to blood safety. Read part 1 and part 2 of this article.... Read more

Cancer czar Keane to stay in Ireland

Niamh Mullen | 04 September 2009 | Guests

As the centralisation of cancer services to eight centres nears completion, Prof Tom Keane looks to the future. Niamh Mullen reports... Read more

Review calls for 100 new intensive care beds

Gary Culliton | 04 September 2009 |

Gary Culliton reports that a detailed national review of adult critical care services has now been carried out and is in the hands of the HSE... Read more

Ireland needs leadership in smoking cessation policies

Niamh Mullen | 04 September 2009 | Guests

Niamh Mullen reports on the publication of the third edition of the Tobacco Atlas and what Ireland can do to get more people to quit smoking... Read more

Are two heads really better than one?

Dr Garrett FitzGerald | 03 September 2009 |

Dr Garrett FitzGerald writes that as head of the HSE and the Department of Health, Minister Mary Harney is effectively arguing with herself... Read more

Giving the people and patients what they need

Dr Mark Hannon | 03 September 2009 | Mark Hannon

Dr Mark Hannon writes that for all the faults in Ireland's health system, patients can get a GP appointment when necessary and GPs themselves have free rein to prescribe what they see fit... Read more

I need a dune buggy and around 5,000 tins of baked beans

G.B. | 03 September 2009 | The Inside Back

I read today in The Irish Times – I’m reading newspapers again (my editor is tired of me saying, as a journalist who works for a newspaper, that I’ve stopped reading newspapers) – that the Center for Disease Control in... Read more

A 'gutless' kick at students

03 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, Terence Cosgrave’s article in the August 21 issue (‘Who gets to go to medical school?’, www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/08/who_gets_to_go_to_medical_scho.html) starts well enough in trying to elaborate on the introduction of the HPAT and its impact on medical student intake. It’s a... Read more

HPAT yet to prove its worth

03 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, It was with interest that I read Terence Cosgrave’s and other articles regarding HPAT entry to medical school (IMT August 21, ‘Who gets to go to medical school?’, www.imt.ie/opinion/2009/08/who_gets_to_go_to_medical_scho.html). It seems that no one is happy, except the... Read more

Medical schools are now redundant

03 September 2009 | Letters

Dear Editor, The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, is to be congratulated on her recent proposals to save the health services. The thrust of her reform package can be summarised as follows: 1 Encouraging job satisfaction for pharmacists; 2 Solving... Read more

Doctor admitted to two-year affair with his patient

Ed Madden, BL | 02 September 2009 | Guests

Ed Madden, BL on the case of a doctor whose registration was suspended by the Singapore Medical Council and later by the General Medical Council in London after he admitted to a two-year affair with one of his patients... Read more

Understanding the evolution of the whale from land animals

Laurence O'Dwyer | 02 September 2009 | Guests

Laurence O'Dwyer writes that since the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, science has itself evolved — enabling us to understand how the whale descended from land animals... Read more

Learn a few lessons from TV docs

Dr Paul Stewart | 02 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Paul Stewart wonders if doctors have anything to learn from the portrayal of medics in television and in films, and whether real life can sometimes be influenced by art... Read more

So you think your job is hellish?

02 September 2009 | Guests

Dr Patrick Rowan reviews a new book by Matt Baglio, which deals with the subject of possession, called The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist... Read more

Risk management: swine flu and employee considerations

Dermot Casserly | 02 September 2009 | Guests

Dermot Casserly of Beauchamps Solicitors explains the obligations of healthcare employers when it comes to protecting their employees from swine flu and dealing with staff who contract the virus... Read more

'Four Ps' mean fewer falls among patients

02 September 2009 | Guests

A simple idea being put into practice in a New York hospital has reduced the number of falls in high-risk or elderly patients. The initiative sees nurses assessing the 'Four Ps' — pain, position, potty and placement... Read more