Ongoing chronic overcrowding at the emergency department of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick hit a new crisis point yesterday. Hospital chief executive Ann Doherty said: “These are choices we do not make lightly. Every patient is important to us,…
Novus Medica
Medical news service from Penhire
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Organ transplant solution was tainted
The head of organ transplantation at Beaumont Hospital has criticised the Irish Medicines Board for failing to tell the hospital that a solution for transplanting organs had been quarantined because it was contaminated. According to David Hickey, director of transplantation…
Clinics offering faulty implants ‘not accountable’
Pat O’Mahony, chief executive of the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), which is charged with overseeing safety for medical devices in Ireland, said it had no authority over privately-run cosmetic surgery clinics. “They are not accountable,” he said. (Examiner) >
Doctor guilty of professional misconduct
AN on-call doctor who had to be bleeped repeatedly for an hour-and-a-quarter before he attended to an emergency patient with chest pains has been found guilty of professional misconduct. He had also made inappropriate comments about a patient’s daughter as…
GP row threatens €11m care centre opening
AN €11 MILLION primary care centre in west Dublin may have to open without involvement of GPs. The potential problem arises as a result of a dispute between doctors and the Health Service Executive. The HSE said it had offered…
Botched lip op left woman ‘looking like a clown’
A WOMAN who got cosmetic surgery as a birthday treat was yesterday awarded €25,000 after she ended up with a tattoo line in the wrong place. Anne McCaffrey (62), Scholarstown Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, won damages at the High Court after…
Cork doctor (54) charged with sexual assault of females in surgeries
A 54-year-old GP was yesterday returned for trial by judge and jury after he was charged with sexually assaulting three females at various locations in North Cork on different dates extending back over 20 years. (Times) >
Posted in Doctors
Nama runs rule over former glass bottle site for new children’s hospital
Other possible Dublin locations understood to be on the Nama list include a vacant part of Elm Park on Merrion Road which is near St Vincent’s hospital, sources told The Irish Times yesterday. An 11 acre site on the South…
Athletic injuries talks
[From Times >] Prof John O’Byrne , Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI), will speak about what people should do when faced with an athletic injury tomorrow at 7pm in the RCSI,…
Surgeon sang as he worked on my heart
My cardio was crooning it quietly and happily to himself as he worked. “Monsieur,” I said. “C’est Les Copains vous chant.” “You know this?” he asked smiling. “It is my favourite song.” So for the next 20 minutes or so,…
Brachytherapy: One more weapon in the cancer arsenal?
Traditional radiotherapy is one treatment option but brings its own risks, such as radiation-induced liver disease. It is not considered effective in tackling tumours beyond three or four centimetres in diametre. A liver metastasis discovered too late and in the…
Proposal to place children’s hospital in Blanchardstown
A PROPOSAL to situate the national children’s hospital on the site of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown is to be put to Fingal County Council. (Times) >
Hospitals due €10m as consultants delay claim forms
DELAYS BY 20 hospital consultants in signing claim forms for insurance companies are responsible for holding up the payment of €10 million to public hospitals, new official figures state. The Health Service Executive (HSE) told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee…
MS patients urge Reilly to make drug available
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) patients have called on the Minister for Health James Reilly to make available a new drug which has had a dramatic impact on the chronic illness. Gilenya has been proven to cut by half the number of…
Meal-replacement products just quick fix, warns doctor
PHARMACISTS WHO promote low-calorie meal-replacement products encourage a cycle of failure, a leading weight management consultant has said. Dr Donal O’Shea, who runs the weight management clinic at Loughlinstown Hospital and is chairman of the Irish Heart Foundation’s Nutrition Council,…
Patient threatens doctor with knife on psych ward
A junior doctor narrowly escaped serious injury after he was threatened with a knife in a hospital corridor by a psychiatric patient. The incident, at Waterford Regional Hospital, has been heavily criticised by the Psychiatric Nurses Association as a further…
Dukan: Kate’s celebrity diet doctor faces ethics charge over radical plan for kids
PIERRE Dukan, whose controversial celebrity diet is said to have helped the Duchess of Cambridge squeeze into her wedding dress, could be struck off the medical register over proposals to award extra marks to schoolchildren who lose weight, it has…
Arthritis sufferers failing to manage condition
Arthritis Ireland is concerned that 64% of people with arthritis are avoiding exercise because of high levels of pain or fear of worsening their condition. The results are at odds with overwhelming scientific evidence that exercise plays a vital role…
Hospital car parks ‘make €50,000 each week in fees’
The fees, which have been dubbed “a tax on the sick”, have now become an important revenue stream for the struggling Irish health service. A survey by the Irish Independent found some hospitals in Dublin were charging exorbitant rates when…
Posted in Hospitals/Clinics
Sean McGrath on budget crisis in the health service
McGrath is also critical of existing private-practice arrangements for consultants in public hospitals and believes these should be reformed to prevent senior doctors leaving to see their fee-paying patients during the main working week. “My personal view is that, from…
Five times as many nurses retired as manager staff
MORE THAN five times as many nurses as management and administration personnel left the health service before controversial changes to pension arrangements came into effect at the beginning of the month. (Times) >
Antibiotic could help stem spread of hospital bug by blocking recurrences
An antibiotic could help stem the spread of a notorious hospital bug by preventing recurrent infections, research suggests. The Clostridium difficile (C. diff) bug, spread by poor personal hygiene, mostly afflicts people with weakened immune systems and is a significant…
Operation victims seek more time to file cases
THE GOVERNMENT is facing fresh calls to amend the statute of limitations to allow women who suffered as a result of a controversial childbirth operation to take legal action against health authorities. This follows the first award in the High…
Posted in Medicolegal, Patients
500 consultants earn above €200,000 public pay ceiling
ONE HOSPITAL consultant received more than €400,000 from the public health service, while up to 500 senior doctors are earning more than €200,000, the former HSE head of human resources has said. In an interview with The Irish Times, Seán…
Dealing with long-stay in hospital
Orla Tinsley: “Being in a hospital ward can feel like sitting in the middle of the M5O in stagnant rush-hour traffic. There is a type of reserved chaos all around, physical and emotional, and most of it has nothing to…
Posted in Hospitals/Clinics, Patients
Scientists discover obesity gene
A SINGLE gene’s effect on the brain can result in non-stop eating, research published online in Nature Medicine has shown. Scientists believe the “gluttony gene” may be responsible for cases of obesity caused by out-of-control appetite. The Bdnf gene variant…
Gerry McCarthy welcomes Mercy Urgent Care Centre at St Mary’s Health Campus
“It is vital we reorganise emergency services in order to provide the most appropriate care to the people of Cork, and the establishment of the Mercy Urgent Care Centre on St Mary’s Health Campus is a significant development in that…
