Editorial

Colin Kerr says part of the debate about the future of the health service must centre on the changing job profiles of doctors and other healthcare professionals When will Irish doctors stop whinging and start doing what they are paid to do — look after their patients? This has become the mantra for politicians, the Health Service Executive, the Department

In Irish Medical Times (2 March 2007) Killarney GP Dr Maria Stack was incorrectly named Dr Maura Stack in a caption of a photo on page 48.

Glenn Taylor is perturbed that an advertisement highlighting the problems facing women was banned in Ireland as the country and the world marked International Women’s Day Late last week, International Women’s Day was celebrated ((or commemorated, depending on your view) to raise awareness of the prejudices, disadvantages and difficulties still faced by women of all ages around the world.

Colin Kerr says a major cultural shift is needed in the Irish health service so that instead of making it difficult for people to retrieve their records, all documents should be freely available People with ‘compulsive hoarding syndrome’ may have immense difficulty throwing anything away, from the oldest paper clip to a used food container.

In Irish Medical Times 16 February, we published an article on metabolic syndrome by Dr Mary Ryan, consultant physician and endroconologist at Barringtons and Aut Even hospitals.

Colin Kerr says the elimination of tuberculosis, which led to thousands of deaths in Ireland in the last century, should be a priority for the Government, policy makers and doctors In two weeks time, the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, will be the guest speaker a the Mater Hospital’s World TB Day 2007, where she will launch a new national

Colin Kerr says that especially at a time of unprecedented prosperity, it is unacceptable that the care of the most vulnerable section of our society does not reach the highest standard We all want our parents, family and loved ones to be treated with respect.

In our front page story of 2 February we reported that Dr James Barry admitted to committing ‘tiny peccadillos’ which resulted in his being struck off by the Medical Council.

As politicians, many of them doctors, gear up for the election, Colin Kerr says voters may feel the health system is in such a mess that it does not matter who is in power It may be cold outside, but spring is in the air and with it the thoughts of our politicians are turning to a general election campaign.

Colin Kerr suggests Minister Harney should divert some of her energy from fighting consultants and into establishing a national Heartwatch programme in general practice In December 1967, Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplant on a 57-year-old man with ischaemic heart disease.