Cash totalling more than €100 million more than would otherwise have been expected was collected from Vhi Healthcare in the final weeks of 2015.

The HSE has not been good at tracking and analysing the reasons for people attending hospitals “and what the actual diagnoses were”, the clinical lead for primary care, Dr David Hanlon, has said.

An irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation (AF), is a stronger risk factor for stroke, heart disease, heart failure and death in women than in men, although the cause is unclear, finds a new study in The BMJ.

Analyses of the results of a survey of Colorado high school students suggest there may be a potential association between substance use and indoor tanning, according to an article published online by JAMA Dermatology.

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent England and Wales High Court case that considered the relationship between a hospital Accident & Emergency Department and a Same Day Treatment Centre.

Dr Stephen McWilliams reviews a new practical book by fellow Irish psychiatrist Dr Keith Gaynor on how to nurture our psychological health.

There were 130 HSE Assistant National Directors at the end of August, compared to 119 at the end of 2014 and just 101 at the end of 2013, and some 17 National Directors, compared to 14 at the end of 2014.

An implementation guide to support the HSE National Consent Policy is in the final stages of development and will be aligned with recent and forthcoming legislation and will be rolled out, the Minister for Health has said.

The HSE is running separate competitions for the provision of both its operational legal services, which account for approximately 80 per cent of the total demand, and corporate legal service needs, which account for the remainder, IMT reports.

Prof the Lord Ara Darzi, an Alumnus of RCSI, has recently been admitted to the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Order of Merit for outstanding contribution to medicine and global health, as part of the Queen’s New Year’s Honours 2016.