Hospital consultants are under pressure to overhaul their work practices after it emerged that 500 are earning €200,000 or more — costing the taxpayer over €100m. Key negotiations between health chiefs and consultants are under way to extend their working…
Novus Medica
Medical news service from Penhire
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Hospital consultant got €186,000 for career rest days
The chief executive of the Health Service Executive, Cathal Magee, told the committee the individual was a clinical director in a hospital and the money related to rest days accumulated over the doctor’s 36-year career in the health service. Under…
Medication defence for sex assault rejected
A medical expert for the prosecution told the jury there was no evidence cholesterol medication could cause increased aggression and that even if it did, Lyons was not taking it long enough for it to have such an effect. Prof…
Posted in Medicines, Medicolegal
Politics and journalism should take some lessons from medicine
If doctors and physiotherapists carried on bad-mouthing each other like that, in the end the real losers would be the patients who would get so cynical and confused that they would trust neither, stop going to either, and end up…
Posted in Doctors, Perceptions
Hospital governance plans are potentially dangerous
Henry Murdoch, chairman of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dún Laoghaire: “The Minister should move carefully in this area and not create more obfuscation by introducing “line management” by “shadow chairpersons” and “shadow chief executives”.” (Times) >
Children’s consent on treatment urged
Children aged 16 or 17 should be able to consent or refuse treatment for a mental illness, a report calling for enhanced patient autonomy recommends. It is one of the key recommendations made in an interim report by a Government-appointed…
Symphysiotomy survivors reject report findings
The author of an ongoing report into symphysiotomy has said it is “very disappointing” that a group representing survivors of the procedure has opted not to take part in a consultation process. Survivors of Symphysiotomy held an extraordinary general meeting…
Aidan Hampson on health risks for international rugby players
Post-match, there has been a great cry for extra training and extra bulking for our players, which would bring us even closer to the American football model — yet the facts speak for themselves: the average lifespan of an American…
Hospital apologises to parents after wrongful and ‘distressing’ abuse probe
The child had been examined and interviewed by staff at Crumlin’s Hospital for Sick Children without his parents’ consent. It later emerged medical treatment had been responsible for internal bruising and the parents received an apology after the intervention of…
Posted in Patients
Overcrowding in A&E comparable to prison – Adams
SINN FÉIN leader Gerry Adams has compared overcrowding in the A&E department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with overcrowding in prisons he had been in. The Taoiseach said the question of restructuring the health delivery system for…
Hospitals to shut if they ‘fail to meet standards’
HOSPITALS WILL be shut down if they fail to meet new standards of healthcare, Minister for Health James Reilly has warned. The new standards which follow critical reports on Ennis hospital in 2009, Mallow hospital in 2011 and Tallaght hospital…
Posted in Hiqa, Hospitals/Clinics
No accountability structure for clinicians in Mid-West acute hospital network
The HSE has admitted staff morale is low and that there is no accountability structure for clinicians within its acute hospital network in the Mid-West. The admissions appear in a HSE document proposing the overhaul of management structures in the…
Tagged with: Management
Posted in Croom, Ennis, Gerry Burke (Obstetrician), HSE, Midwest, Nenagh, St John's
Posted in Croom, Ennis, Gerry Burke (Obstetrician), HSE, Midwest, Nenagh, St John's
Medical students: ‘No option but to emigrate’
When asked about their favourite part of the degree courses, 90% said working in the hospital, but there was divergence of opinion over what point of contact there was most helpful, with 39% selecting registrars. Just 35% of those surveyed…
800 nurses gone from register
The judge said the number involved had “worrying implications”. Mr Butler said many nurses may have gone abroad. (Independent) >
Profile of GP Dr Austin O’Carroll
Despite his worsening condition, he continues to work as a full-time GP in inner-city Dublin. As walking puts undue pressure on his joints, the only concession he has allowed himself is a bicycle, which has become his preferred mode of…
Posted in Austin O’Carroll, General practice
Cork doctor hid conviction for using fake CIA ID to buy gun
A DOCTOR based in Cork was yesterday found guilty of professional misconduct by the Irish Medical Council for not disclosing a previous conviction in the US after he had used false Central Intelligence Agency identification to buy a gun. The…
Prisoner care improved by mental health unit
A groundbreaking mental health unit in Mountjoy Jail has greatly improved care for inmates and boosted compliance with international human rights standards. Research by medical experts from the Central Mental Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry in Trinity College found…
Hospital reveals safety fears amid baby boom
THE master of one of the biggest maternity hospitals in the country admitted he has “grave concerns” over safety, as the ongoing baby boom puts huge pressure on a cash-strapped system. Dr Sam Coulter-Smith, master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, spoke…
Reforming health services
GREATER CLARITY and public consultation are required in relation to Government plans for reform of health services, the eventual abolition of the Health Service Executive and the creation of a universal health insurance system. During the past 18 months, Minister…
Enhance patient autonomy, advises report
A RIGHTS-based approach to mental health legislation which enhances patient autonomy is the key recommendation arising from an interim report by a Government-appointed steering group set up to review the Mental Health Act 2001. The Minister of State for Disability,…
Unit shows 350,000 on outpatient waiting lists
UP TO 350,000 people are estimated to be waiting for first outpatient appointments to see consultants at public hospitals throughout the State, the Department of Health has said. Briefing on the work of the special delivery unit (SDU), set up…
Psychiatrist blames drugs for rampage
A MAN who went on the rampage at Cork Airport was not insane at the time but acted as he did as a result of being intoxicated, a psychiatrist has claimed. Dr Damian Mohan was called by the prosecution at…
Surgeon cleared as cancer patient ‘fell through a gap’
A CONSULTANT surgeon, who faced a Medical Council inquiry after his patient failed to get cancer biopsy results for 15 months, had “a misplaced confidence” in the system for reporting lab results at St Columcille’s hospital in Dublin, a fitness-to-practise…
Sports-mad children ‘face hip problems in their 40s’
Dr Patrick Carton said there was growing evidence linking regular participation in competitive sports among children as young as eight and hip problems in later life. “Because of increasing demands and stresses from more and more training sessions being placed…
Call for Cabinet focus on disease prevention
A SPECIAL Cabinet committee should be established to direct strategies for the prevention of diseases such as cancer, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee was told. Cutting the number of people diagnosed with cancer was possible, Mairéad Lyons, head of services…
Spending on agency staff could pay for 3,000 nurses
THREE THOUSAND full-time nurses or 1,000 consultants could be recruited with the amount of money being spent on agency staff in the health service, it has been claimed in the Dáil. (Times) >
Private health coverage ‘down 2%’
MINISTER FOR Health James Reilly said there had been a “modest” reduction in the number of people covered by private health insurance. He said 46,000 people had left the insurance market between the end of March 2007 and the same…
Report calls for new models of emergency care
The report of the national emergency medicine programme, drawn up by representatives of virtually all grades of staff in the emergency medicine service and published by the HSE yesterday, forms part of a series of reviews of specialities across the…
Department of Health reaches deal on new drugs
NEW DRUGS for the treatment of conditions including multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder and hepatitis C are to be made available following an agreement between the Department of Health and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association. Drugs to be released will include…
