Without any direct reference to Sligo hospital’s efforts to persuade David to go home, a HSE statement said: “In line with best practice, all patients at Sligo General Hospital have a full multidisciplinary clinical assessment prior to their discharge and…
Novus Medica
Medical news service from Penhire
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Cork drug trialist describes seizures of three volunteers
A spokesman for Modern Bioscience, a UK-based drug development company, confirmed yesterday they had initiated a study to investigate the safety of the drug Rimcazole in healthy volunteers. (Times) >>>
Union warns beds will close in west
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said HSE management had maintained it will not replace student nurses who are scheduled to end a 36-week placement period in hospitals in the region over the next fortnight. (Times) >>>
Galway hospital jobs may be saved
Unions and management at Galway University Hospitals are close to agreeing measures that will tackle the financial overrun in the hospitals without the loss of jobs. (Business Post) >>>
Surgeons had cut use of DePuy problem hip
Many of the country’s orthopaedic surgeons had already reduced or stopped using the artificial hip that was recalled last week by its manufacturer, DePuy Orthopaedics, a unit of Johnson & Johnson. DePuy’s implants are what are commonly called metal onmetal…
New team approach to healthcare
The HSE’s director of quality and clinical care concedes that he faces huge challenges to revamp patient care with best practice, but he is confident this will be achieved, writes Susan Mitchell (Business Post) >>>
Revenue targets doctors, pilots and university staff
University staff, airline pilots and doctors are being targeted in an investigation by the Revenue into the employment status of workers. (Tribune) >>>
Sutherland pathologist appeared for Holohan killer
Northern Ireland pathologist Professor Jack Crane reviewed the postmortem of Sutherland – who was discovered dead in his London flat last September – and found it to be “wholly inadequate”. While there is no proof at this stage of any…
Seasonal flu vaccine to include protection against H1N1
Health officials are considering the possibility of combining protection against swine flu within the seasonal flu vaccine, the Sunday Tribune has learned. While much depends on the outcome of clinical trials, this could mean at-risk patients who obtain the traditional…
Outrage after hospital gives jockey hurt in fall the all-clear
A TURF Club medic expressed outrage last night after well-known jockey Shay Barry was discharged from hospital with an undiagnosed fracture. Barry sustained a fractured pelvis after suffering a serious fall at the last fence at Killarney races. Doctors at…
The DePuy medical controversy
WE don’t often see a medical controversy unfold as swiftly as the hip replacement affair. On Thursday, the DePuy company announced a recall of two devices used by about 93,000 people around the world. The company said it regretted having…
Breathe easy as ‘asthma can be cured early on’
Irish allergy expert Dr Paul Carson said it is now well recognised in the medical world that asthma on its own doesn’t exist. The Asthma Society of Ireland has reported that asthma is consistently in the top 20 diagnoses for…
‘TB: I felt I should ring a bell of warning’
Hearing you have TB shouldn’t be as scary as it is. We’re rational human beings with faith in the medical system, right? Wrong. Listening to a sympathetic doctor at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin in early February, I just wanted to…
Merck Manual medical iPhone app
(From Indo) From playground emergencies to the specific healthcare needs of the elderly, it’s useful and sometimes vital to have accurate medical information to hand. This app for your iPod or iPhone enables you to access relevant medical advice and…
Cervical cancer jab researcher warns of risks
THE leading researcher in the development of the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has called it a “public health experiment” and has warned that parents must be made aware of the serious adverse events associated with its use. However, Dr Diane…
Side-effects of ECT
In a letter to the Times editor, Dr Pat Bracken writes: “Madam, – In her report on a recent study of the side-effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Claire O’Connell (HEALTHplus, August 24th) mentions that this study did not look at…
Gene linked to migraine identified
AN INTERNATIONAL research effort has identified the first gene associated with migraine. The researchers also believe their data may show a link between migraine and a specific chemical that controls signalling in the brain. Dr Aarno Palotie of the Wellcome…
Drug made in Wicklow cuts risk of heart failure
THE LARGEST global study into chronic heart failure has found that a drug made in Co Wicklow reduces death and hospitalisation due to heart failure by more than 25 per cent in at-risk patients. The findings were outlined yesterday at…
System only used in 10% of Irish hip operations
Muiris Houston: “It has now emerged through unpublished research in the UK that both of these systems have required revision surgery at a higher rate than normal. All forms of hip replacement have a defined “life span”, but in this…
HSE plans to recoup €90m ‘will affect’ patients
It said HSE West had to “live within the budget we have been allocated” and that local managers were working with their teams to finalise break-even plans. (Times) >>>
Three men in clinical drugs trial admitted to hospital
The volunteers were treated in the clinic before being transferred to Cork University Hospital accompanied by one of the doctors who was supervising the trial. (Times) >>>
Hundreds of patients expected to require corrective hip surgery
The Irish Medicines Board said it had received reports of 12 incidents involving the ASR Hip System made by DePuy Orthopaedics since it was introduced in 2004. (Times) >>>
Mental health service – HSE cannot afford to ignore advice
Due to the shortage of male nurses, security companies are being hired to handle the threat posed by some patients. During 2009, members of staff were assaulted 1,314 times. (Examiner) >>>
GPs fear lives at risk as HSE slashes out-of-hours funding
The North East Doctor on Call (NEDOC) service has been told that instead of an annual block grant it will receive a payment for every public patient treated from next year. Kells GP Dr Peter Wahirab, one of the founders…
100 psychiatric nursing posts yet to be allocated
Last month, the Psychiatric Nurses Association published a damning report claiming services are in “freefall” due to staff shortages, but as yet the 100 positions have not been allocated. (Examiner) >>>
Consultants highlight dangers of head shop substances
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine said its members’ departments across the State continued to see the immediate toxic and psychiatric effects of illicit psychoactive agents, including those available before, and after, the publication in May of a list of…
Health red alert for women
A WOMAN dies in Ireland every two hours from heart complications, stroke or blood-vessel disease, doctors warned yesterday. “Our goal is to alert women that, after the menopause in particular, they are at risk of heart attack and stroke, as…
Posted in Conditions / Campaigns, Public health
HSE aims to clear lengthy waiting lists in two years
Dr Barry White, a hospital consultant who is on a two-year secondment, is the HSE’s director of quality and clinical care. He said: “A wait greater than three months is no good for the patient.” (Independent) >>>
Ways to cement a faster recovery
THE UNIVERSITY of Leeds and Queen’s University Belfast have joined forces to develop and test a new type of bone cement for easing pain after spinal fractures. The work has the potential to improve the lives of young people hurt…
