The Department of Health has made two new appointments to the National Maternity Strategy Group in recent days, both of whom are anaesthetists.

A national meeting of the Irish Association of GP Co-operatives (IAGPC) has agreed that the operation of the co-op should continue as normal, notwithstanding the introduction of a new free GP care contract, IMT reports.

GPs in Achill Sound have requested the HSE to carry out an urgent review of their onerous rotas, which they have labelled “unsustainable”.

Minister of State for Primary Care, Kathleen Lynch has rejected the suggestion from the NAGP that the information provided by her in the Dáil in relation to the numbers of GPs who have signed up to the ‘free GP care’ scheme was inaccurate, stating that in fact it has since gone up.

Dara Gantly looks at whether we should nudge or shove the public towards a healthier lifestyle.

A GP representative group has disputed figures on the number of doctors who have signed up to the under-sixes contract reported earlier today (Thursday May 28), claiming they would represent a remarkable jump on the 2 per cent of GPs who said they had returned signed contracts less than two weeks ago.

The IMO has said it is committed to bringing more resources into general practice and starting the process for the unwinding of FEMPI cuts.

The HSE on Wednesday (May 27) secured an adjournment of the interlocutory injunction in the High Court by a Clare family doctor against the ‘free GP care’ scheme, to June 11 — almost a week beyond the new sign-up date that the Executive had only moved back two days earlier.

Any delay in resolving significant differences in the manner that non-EU medical graduates are treated in respect of their applications for specialist training by the Medical Council, as opposed to graduates from Europe, will only exacerbate already chronic health staff shortages, the Overseas Medics of Ireland (OMI) group has warned.

An investigation by the Ombudsman has found that one of the reasons people are afraid to complain about the care and treatment they receive in hospitals is because they are concerned about the repercussions for themselves or their loved ones.