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Opinion: Mark Hannon
All entries for Mark Hannon
Professionalism is the core of our practice
Dr Mark Hannon | 11 March 2010
Dr Mark Hannon argues that respect for the medical profession in society is the result of sacrifice and conscientiousness, and must not be thrown away by doctors who want to be treated like other public service workers... Read more
Stop playing the blame game
Dr Mark Hannon | 18 February 2010
Dr Mark Hannon wonders why people are carrying signs that read 'tax the rich!' when, during all of the Celtic Tiger era, their sole pursuit was becoming wealthy... Read more
Stop playing the blame game
Dr Mark Hannon | 18 February 2010
Dr Mark Hannon wonders why people are carrying signs that read 'tax the rich!' when, during all of the Celtic Tiger era, their sole pursuit was becoming wealthy... Read more
Safety of patients is paramount
Dr Mark Hannon | 24 September 2009
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
Giving the people and patients what they need
Dr Mark Hannon | 03 September 2009
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
Public sector must share pain
Dr Mark Hannnon | 11 May 2009
Dr Mark Hannon writes that the Government needs to make some hard decisions regarding vested interests and stop tackling the 'soft' target of NCHDs. In a previous article, I complained about the sway that the media holds over popular opinion,... Read more
The fickle media holds the balance of power
Dr Mark Hannon | 03 March 2009
Dr Mark Hannon writes that now more then ever, the media need to report honestly and fairly, and think beyond newspaper sales and viewing figures. I am sure that most readers have spent the last few weeks glued to their... Read more
The specialty of generality
Dr Mark Hannon | 18 February 2009
Dr Mark Hannon says that medical training schemes will have to change if patients in Ireland are ever to get the healthcare service that they expect and that they deserve. As so often happens, the mainstream press (in this case,... Read more
Middle classes feel the crunch
Dr Mark Hannon | 27 January 2009
Dr Mark Hannon writes that the Government needs to encourage citizens to 'spend' Ireland out of recession, and not penalise the middle classes at every opportunity When the general public first became aware that all was not well with the... Read more
NCHDs squeezed but locums thrive
Mark Hannon | 13 January 2009
Dr Mark Hannon says that although hospitals use every device possible to penny-pinch from NCHDs, they lavish money on their replacements. The New Year has dawned and for once, tales of woe at the health service have slipped somewhat from... Read more
Junior docs take the hit during cutbacks
10 December 2008
Dr Mark Hannon writes that as the Government scrambles to make savings in the health service, NCHDs are expected to accept less money for vast amounts of overtime. The financial crisis has been going on for so long now that... Read more
First World War buffs — take rote
Dr Mark Hannon | 30 November 2008
Dr Mark Hannon writes that while it is easier to focus on methods of education such as problem-based learning, some things just have to be learned by heart. Just a couple of weeks ago, the 90th anniversary of the end... Read more
Hard times call for hard decisions to be made
Dr Mark Hannon | 10 November 2008
Dr Mark Hannon writes that in light of our current economic circumstances, every group within the health service will have to sacrifice something in the national interest. It appears that the dust is finally beginning to settle on the medical... Read more
The war on germs — it starts with your humble toaster
Dr Mark Hannon | 28 October 2008
Dr Mark Hannon says that there is much more to hospital hygiene than targeting doctors' ties and toasters. Now that we have felt the inevitable pain of Brian Lenihan’s first Budget and know what is in store for our wage... Read more
Boom and bust cycles
Dr Mark Hannon | 28 September 2008
A pall of gloom hangs over the hospital at the moment. Despair stalks the staff canteen. Talk of share prices dominates the back-door conversation of the hospital’s dwindling smoking clientele. People who previously didn’t know the difference between an investment... Read more
How to reform the points system for medicine
Dr Mark Hannon | 12 September 2008
Dr Mark Hannon writes that all points systems may be unfair, but the 'back-door' currently in use discriminates against less well-off students. The summer has passed with alarming swiftness and with it the annual debate on the merits of the... Read more
CUH should retain endocrinology
Dr Mark Hannon | 29 August 2008
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
Customers and US convenience
Dr Mark Hannon | 24 June 2008
Dr Mark Hannon thinks importing the American model of making things convenient for customers might be a good idea for the health service. I have recently returned from a short trip to the USA and as usual, I was more... Read more
Bad times ahead may teach us some good
Dr Mark Hannon | 11 June 2008
Dr Mark Hannon believes that an economic downturn might teach us some valuable lessons about the things that are really important in life. Despite the fact that the summer is upon us, there seems to be an air of gloom... Read more
The tragedy of ageing alone in this country
Mark Hannon | 28 May 2008
Dr Mark Hannon on the fact that although nursing home costs continue to spiral, fewer younger people are willing to care for their elderly relatives. Much as we hate to admit it, we are all getting older by the day.... Read more
Joined-up thinking is the only way forward
Mark Hannon | 14 May 2008
Dr Mark Hannon believes that in a country as small as Ireland, we must consider our health service from a national, and not a local, point of view. I recently travelled to Germany for a few days for a meeting.... Read more
An overdose of health in newspaper headlines?
Mark Hannon | 30 April 2008
Dr Mark Hannon says constant criticism of the healthcare system for the sake of selling papers does no good, when short-term sacrifices must be made for a better service in the long term. Healthcare related scandals seem to dominate the... Read more
The lost skills and forgotten pleasures of doing it yourself
Mark Hannon | 16 April 2008
A friend recently gave me a satellite navigation system and it really is a most wonderful device. One push of a button, a few seconds of calculations and it tells me exactly what direction to turn and precisely how to... Read more
Keeping the pub doors closed on Good Friday
Mark Hannon | 02 April 2008
Dr Mark Hannon on latter-day criticisms of Ireland's Catholic heritage and old ties between Church and State. For the first time since 1940 and the last time until 2160, we recently had the St Patrick’s Day bank holiday weekend and... Read more
Modern patients will demand more efficiency
Mark Hannon | 20 March 2008
Dr Mark Hannon says that modern life demands means doctors must improve on the service they offer patients. Every day at work I spend a few hours engaged in a pursuit which few lay people would imagine that doctors ever... Read more
Lack of opportunity sends graduates abroad
Dr Mark Hannon | 07 March 2008
Dr Mark Hannon writes that unless a number of significant problems are addressed, medical training in Ireland will struggle to maintain high standards and keep up its reputation internationally Once again, Spring is upon us and this can mean only... Read more
Drugs — and the truth behind the headlines
Dr Mark Hannon | 19 February 2008
Dr Mark Hannon says that media criticism of the pharmaceutical industry fails to point out how medications have improved our life expectancy — and also leads to poorer compliance rates. One of the many areas in which the HSE is... Read more
Failure to plan is the root cause of a poor health service
Dr Mark Hannon | 06 February 2008
Dr Mark Hannon says that unless the HSE is allowed to operate free of political interference and can plan effectively, there won't be any major improvements in the health service The modern world is one of organisation and planning, facts... Read more
Laptops, palmtops, but no homepage in sight
Dr Mark Hannon | 25 January 2008
The modern world is one of organisation and planning, and facts and figures. The age of drifting in late for an appointment, a flight or any other scheduled, routine event is long gone. The advent of Ryanair has seen to... Read more
It's the small things that really matter, apparently
Dr Mark Hannon | 04 January 2008
The winter weather and Christmas mayhem have hit our country with equal fury over the last few weeks. Trundling from overcrowded shop to overcrowded shop with an icy Arctic-like breeze whipping around us is the way we have spent our... Read more
Accountability doesn't rest with Harney alone
Dr Mark Hannon | 07 December 2007
Acres of newsprint and hours of radio and television airtime have been devoted to the various crises which the Health Service Executive (HSE), and Minister Harney in particular, have found themselves embroiled in over the past few weeks. Indeed, if... Read more
Accentuate the positive for a change and for change
Dr Mark Hannon | 09 November 2007
I am just back from a week of annual leave, which afforded me the opportunity to catch up on activities outside of medicine– something that is all too easy to forget during the daily rush in hospital practice. However, on... Read more
Media's 'killer bugs' frighten patients
Dr Mark Hannon | 26 October 2007
It has been another interesting couple of weeks in the world of Irish and international healthcare. It’s very disturbing to hear reports of the recent resignation of the head of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals National Health Service Trust... Read more
Time to catch up with an old friend
Dr Mark Hannon | 12 October 2007
I was recently in the US for a short trip which proved interesting and informative. Few places in the world offer as much variety in terms of culture, music, architecture and overall life experience as the States. However, to listen... Read more
Investment now, for rewards later
Dr Mark Hannon | 28 September 2007
I am currently preparing for the clinical part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, or USMLE for short. For many Irish doctors, the seemingly insurmountable hurdle of the American examinations has proved to be a significant barrier to career... Read more
The rush for the great indoors
Dr Mark Hannon | 14 September 2007
Once again the summer seems to be drawing to a damp and dismal end, leaving us with only a few fond memories of our pleasant April– and a few clement days here and there during our ‘summer’– to look back... Read more
From frying pan to fire: misusers and refusers
Dr Mark Hannon | 17 August 2007
Although I have been qualified and practising medicine for only three years, the speed with which new medications are being devised and patented never ceases to amaze me. This year alone, numerous new and innovative treatments for type 2 diabetes... Read more
Summer time and the living becomes easier
Dr Mark Hannon | 10 August 2007
These are the days that all doctors look forward to– the long, bright days of summer. Many consultants are on holidays, as are many patients, leading to reduced waiting times in outpatient departments and the emergency department. Many of the... Read more
In an age of evidence-based living we apply little wisdom
Dr Mark Hannon | 27 July 2007
It seems that every day one reads newspapers or watches television there is some new health food, health fad or magic tablet being marketed: the promise of eternal youth in a bottle. The market in over-the-counter medications in Ireland is... Read more
American healthcare model can show us way forward
Dr Mark Hannon | 13 July 2007
I recently attended a conference in the US which provided me with an excellent opportunity to witness the many differences between practising medicine on either side of the pond. Many media commentators use the example of the US healthcare system... Read more
The war is certainly not over, not by any means
Dr Mark Hannon | 29 June 2007
The dust has finally settled on another exciting election campaign, and with Mary Harney once again donning the mantle of Minister of Health, we can now recommit ourselves to the issues that were occupying our minds before the election. Industrial... Read more
The time has come to take obesity seriously
Dr Mark Hannon | 15 June 2007
Much has been written recently about the growing number of skeletal celebrities now inhabiting our television screens and fashion magazines. Although anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders are increasing in incidence, have a huge morbidity and are occasionally fatal, I... Read more
In search of the good life, away from the rat race
Dr Mark Hannon | 01 June 2007
The pace of life in the country and in smaller regional hospitals can mean happier and healthier patients — and doctors — than in the large metropolitan tertiary facilities As it was recently election season, numerous issues that usually lie... Read more
Natural remedies cannot replace pharmaceuticals
Dr Mark Hannon | 18 May 2007
There is a lot of discussion in the media and among the general public on the cost of prescription drugs to the taxpayer. Each debate usually reaches the same conclusion. It is argued that prescription medications cost too much. It... Read more
Administrative failures block contribution of our doctors
Dr Mark Hannon | 04 May 2007
I hinted in a recent column at the unpalatable fact that it is impossible to provide a specialist health service on every street corner, and that unfortunately the health service as whole is likely to become more, rather than less,... Read more
We can't have a hospital at every crossroads
Dr Mark Hannon | 20 April 2007
Another three months has sped by and with it the merry-go-round of SHO jobs creaks around again, with most SHOs being uprooted from positions where they might have felt vaguely comfortable and set down in another new, unfamiliar territory. However,... Read more
Cork problems caused by lack of frontline staff
Dr Mark Hannon | 06 April 2007
The month of March has almost passed us by and with it, not surprisingly, has come another crisis in the health service in the shape of the opening of Cork University Maternity Hospital. Although the fact that the hospital didn’t... Read more
Administrators should put their own house in order first
Dr Mark Hannon | 23 March 2007
It seems that much media coverage over the last two to three weeks has focused on the length of the health service working week — nursing unions threatening industrial action over their claims for a 35-hour week; painstaking negotiation on... Read more
Young doctors may often need a shoulder to cry on
Dr Mark Hannon | 09 March 2007
I am sure that most of us are happy to see that the month of March is upon us. Although February is the shortest month of the year, at times it seems interminable, as black cold windy nights give way... Read more
I am clever, I am strong, I am great and I know I am...
Dr Mark Hannon | 23 February 2007
Back in the good old days of the Leaving Certificate, when all that worried us was the points system, job applications seemed as far away as getting into Lillie’s on a Saturday night without being asked for identification. However, we... Read more
Some decisions are best left to experts
Dr Mark Hannon | 09 February 2007
The Irish economy is continuing to grow at breakneck speed, and few people now enjoying the good times want to remember the numerous bad old days in our recent past. Neither do people want to focus on the many rather... Read more
Health service should embrace technology
Dr Mark Hannon | 26 January 2007
I was lucky enough to be off for a few days over the Christmas period, giving me a chance to meet up with some of my non-medical friends. This is always a refreshing experience because when the conversation turns to... Read more
Patients, doctors must share responsibility
Dr Mark Hannon | 12 January 2007
Last year has vanished into the ether, and another year is upon us. Around this time of year, some commentators tend to regale us with tales of the year gone by and the extraordinary events that distinguished it from other,... Read more
'Tis the season to be relaxed and happy
Dr Mark Hannon | 15 December 2006
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and with it comes worsening weather, queues, traffic, and stress levels. In hospitals around the country patients are imploring their doctors to let them leave. At the other end of the spectrum, there are elderly patients... Read more
Some uncomfortable truths about community rating
Dr Mark Hannon | 08 December 2006
It has certainly been an interesting couple of weeks for those of us in the medical profession with an interest in the large (and growing) public versus private healthcare divide. The Irish judicial system has, or so it seems, landed... Read more