Opinion :: Irish Medical Times

The Big Lie

Once upon a time, there were too few people and too many hospital beds, writes Dr Garrett FitzGerald So, they cut the beds and other services. ...
Should cancer be described as a ‘battle’?
Patient expressed a deep desire to be allowed to die

We should immunise Ukrainian children as a priority – given the worldwide outbreaks

Public Health doctor Dr Catherine Conlon writes that it is essential that we immunise Ukrainian
Ideology is no substitute for intelligence

When considering the plight of Liz Truss this week, one is tempted to recall the
Have a Go-Bag ready for your hospital stay-cation

Our patient correspondent Sheilagh Foley looks at the business of preparing for a hospital stay
Write on! Express yourself through words

Writing can be a hugely absorbing and fulfilling hobby and all you’ve got to do
A grandmother’s great legacy: how we recall ‘those moments of glad grace’

The death of a close maternal relative recalls the death of another great matriarch writes
Let’s not keep these doctors idle for a year

We have a resource right under our noses to help deal with the expected surge

Dr Dermot J Ward

Gay Byrne and Jonathan Miller, memories of whom endure

Dr Dermot J Ward recounts his little acquaintance with two equally memorable figures, yet of
Lamenting the passing of the age of clinical innocence

Dr Dermot J Ward recalls a slightly odd ‘messenger boy errand’ to the Old Bailey at a time when he, as a trainee, was able to assure the judge of the availability of a bed to admit a mental health patient
Lamenting the passing of the age of clinical innocence

Dr Dermot J Ward recalls a slightly odd ‘messenger boy errand’ to the Old Bailey at a time when he, as a trainee, was able to assure the judge of the availability of a bed to admit a mental health patient

The Big Lie

Once upon a time, there were too few people and too many hospital beds, writes
Time machine on steroids

There’s a lot to be said for saying more devotions
Reflections of a young man in medicine in the dim and distant past – another country

Back in the day, being a junior doctor in a hospital was perhaps even worse

Doctors play it safe online?

Given that they are unlikely to suddenly melt away, Dr Muiris Houston contemplates the impact of online medical services and how safe they are
Idiosyncratic, unconventional and a warrior

Dr Muiris Houston sounds a heartfelt tribute to Dr Eithne Conway-McGee a loving, caring, giving, force of nature that came from a generation who believed in the power of community
In favour of gender-neutral public vaccination

In the midst of the cervical cancer screening controversy, Dr Muiris Houston advises it might be prudent to prepare for a fake news campaign following the recommendation to extend HPV vaccination to boys

Why is the medical profession ignoring the plight of patients in rural Irish hospitals?

It’s a pity that a great many medical practitioners do not oppose local downgrading, writes
No Dear Leader works, dear reader

Dr Ruairi Hanley reiterates why communism isn’t the best friend of ‘Big Pharma’ and vaccine
Damned if you do…

Dr Ruairi Hanley on the controversy of partners visiting their birthing spouses in hospital I

Patient expressed a deep desire to be allowed to die

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent England and Wales Court of Protection case which
Court had to decide between competing public interests in confidentiality case

The position of the parents was that the administration of justice should take precedence over the confidentiality of any statements made to the Enquiry
Optometrist opposed suspension of licence to practice but Court refused to take risk

Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent High Court case in which an optometrist opposed

Should cancer be described as a ‘battle’?

Research suggests that using war metaphors to describe cancer can be harmful to patients — so why do so many people keep using them?
Ideology is no substitute for intelligence

When considering the plight of Liz Truss this week, one is tempted to recall the
Let’s not keep these doctors idle for a year

We have a resource right under our noses to help deal with the expected surge

Languishing in the Pays d’Oc

Described as ‘vigilante vignerons’, the winegrowers from the Languedoc region in France are revolting against
The mystery of the Malvasia Nera

Giovanni Morelli dons his best deerstalker to become our super sleuth on the trail of
What a wonderful wine this would be

Giovanni Morelli on a world of wine waiting to be discovered, like Chianti Classico from Buondonno

No blacks, dogs or Irish…or doctors (a strange tale of iatrophobia) in the local public house

It’s not illegal to discriminate against doctors but Dr Seamus Kilby still has a ‘Rosa
Views and experiences of GPs are critically important as providers and non-providers of termination of pregnancy services

This week’s Comment is provided by Barrister Marie O’Shea – the Chair of the Review
No Dawn of new psychiatry era for O’Shea

Medical writer Dawn O’Shea wrote a compelling piece in last month’s Irish Medical Times calling

Letter: ‘Safe access zones’ are an infringement of free speech, free assembly and religious liberty

Minister Donnelly’s proposed Bill seeking to introduce ‘Safe access zones’ to prevent peaceful pro-life protestors
Letter: Maternity care

New amendments to Bill Dear Editor: Some new amendments to the law under the GeneralWork-Life
Letter: Don’t believe what people say about you

Understanding stigma and self-stigma Dear Editor: When do you suppose professionals will stop subscribing to

Enda survives to tell another tale

I have been known to have a pint or two in the same joint that
World’s hardest exam

The applicant’s exam to All Souls College, Oxford University, is generally considered the most difficult
War in commuterland and human privacy

The arrival of the Clongriffin Dart station has been a welcome and transformative experience for