“We need something in place where, if I’m a consultant, I know that no one can point the finger at me for carrying out a termination,” said UK-based obstetrician Prof Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran. Minister for Health James Reilly expressed “serious concerns” about revelations…
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Blog Archives
New figures reveal sharp increase in HIV among young gay men
Young gay and bisexual men have been warned the risk of contracting HIV has grown significantly. As new figures revealed a four-fold increase in new diagnoses among those aged between 25 and 34, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen)…
Initiatives to support those living with dementia
A Memory Resource Room where people concerned about memory loss can talk to health professionals is just one of a number of North Cork initiatives designed to support dementia patients and their families. The other is the Crystal Project which…
Steroid drug use on the increase in Ireland, study of drug users in Dublin has found
Steroid use was on the increase, Mr Tony Geoghegan, the chief executive of Merchants Quay Ireland, said, but had not been recognised by the national drug strategy. Because it is a “furtive area”, steroid users were not inclined to go to…
Psychiatric unit dangerous, says union
The Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (PNA) yesterday claimed conditions at a dedicated unit in Kerry General Hospital, where three male nurses were assaulted by a disturbed patient, are dangerous. The nurses were treated at the Tralee hospital’s emergency department and went…
Over 160 patients waiting for vital brain op
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Neurological Alliance of Ireland spokeswoman Mags Rogers said official HSE figures show 164 patients — suffering from a range of serious conditions — are being forced to wait more than half a year before undergoing…
Too posh to push? : Times editorial
Reasons cited for the rise in Caesarean section rates include more older women having babies, better detection of foetal distress and the late presentation of some pregnant women. However, a rising fear of litigation, doctor convenience and financial incentives have…
€7m promised for surgery to ensure 350 children can hear fully
Minister James Reilly told the Oireachtas Health Committee yesterday that approximately €7m has been “put aside for next year” to ensure bilateral cochlear ear implants can take place in Ireland. The delicate procedure addresses deafness caused by damage to the…
Iodine crucial for pregnant women
Research, reported in The Lancet, from Surrey and Bristol universities, led by Margaret Rayman of the University of Surrey, used samples and data from Bristol-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, also known as “Children of the 90s”. This…
Overweight people with cancer have poorer rate of survival
The findings emerged from an examination of 1,041 patients who were treated for cancer at Limerick Regional Hospital between 2001 and 2010. They had poorer survival rates, although this was only of statistical significance for non-cancer deaths among these patients,…
No treatment for suicide? Letter to Examiner from pyschiatric nurse
As a psychiatric nurse I find Dr Anthony McCarthy’s statement not only wrong and horrifying but insulting to all those who are providing treatment for suicidal people every day. Of course there is treatment for suicidal ideation. (Examiner) >
Plan to move 26 patients in open setting to locked ward ‘appalling’
Plans to transfer patients with acute mental illness from a large open campus outside Cork city to a city-centre locked ward, have been described as “appalling” by the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA). Under proposals contained in a draft HSE discussion…
Jeremy Irons: Mental health system too drug-related
The farm is run by charity, Slí Eile, which is HSE-funded and was set up by Joan Hamilton in 2001 as a result of her experiences with her daughter, who suffered from mental health difficulties and whose condition deteriorated in…
New IVF therapy ‘will boost couples’ success rate by 50pc’
Experts have described the new method – which will be available here for the first time – as the “biggest fertility breakthrough for decades”. Professor Simon Fishel, who is collaborating with the Beacon Clinic in Sandyford, Dublin, said the new…
New hip replacement therapy halves hospital time, says surgeon
An innovative form of hip-replacement therapy, which cuts time in hospital in half, should be rolled out across the health service, an orthopaedic surgeon has said. Derek Bennett said the programme known as Rapid Recovery, which originated in Denmark, amounts to a…
Gap in diabetes care blamed for preventable amputations
Diabetes patients are supposed to receive medical checks every four months but in many parts of the country they wait up to three years for an appointment because hospitals are “swamped”, says endocrinologist Dr Kevin Moore, chairman of Diabetes Action. The…
Virus-hit disability unit closed to new patients
The contagious virus, called human metapneumovirus (hMPV), broke out at St Joseph’s Disability Service, which is part of the St Ita’s Psychiatric Hospital campus in Portrane, north Dublin. Frances Plunkett, communications officer of HSE Dublin North East said staff at…
Fintan O’Toole: Free GP care not a priority for austerity sadists
It’s much cheaper to give people, especially those with chronic illnesses, free access to their GPs. Even the Government understands this very well. Just last November, in its health strategy document, it stated: “the removal of fees for GP care…
Plan to split hospital system sparks fears for patient care
Doctors will be recruited to work in the group rather than a particular hospital. The benefit for patients is that it could cut waiting lists – although patients may have to travel to another hospital within the group to have…
Involuntary admission procedures for psychiatric hospitals poorly understood
On May 1st, Pat Kenny interviewed Minister for Health James Reilly on RTÉ Radio 1 about the abortion legislation currently going through the Oireachtas. Kenny asked the Minister about a hypothetical scenario in which a woman requested a termination on the grounds of suicide risk,…
PIP breast implant link to foetal risk ‘alarming’
A new report published in the British Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine has claimed that the faulty implants, made by the French firm Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP), could threaten developing foetuses. The report’s authors said the implants contain…
Posted in Medicolegal, Patients
Two-thirds of parents using drugs incorrectly when treating their children
Two-thirds of parents are using common analgesic drugs such as paracetamol and ibuprofen incorrectly when treating their children, a new study has found. Researchers from University College Cork and Cork University Hospital say parents need to be given more information on the use of…
‘Zero tolerance’ with drug-using patients at Mater
Dr Patricia Casey said drug dealing is “a very regular problem” in the hospital, that has lead to increased security on the psychiatric ward. Her comments come after patients at psychiatric units at Mayo General and the Mid Western Regional…
New capacity law to replace outdated legislation which labels disabled as ‘lunatics’
The current law governing mental capacity for vulnerable adults in Ireland is based on the Regulation of Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1871. This provides for a ward-of-court system, under which the court makes all key decisions over a person’s life. The…
Bill Tormey defends Peter Boylan
The case was about more than management of sepsis. It was also about preventing the onset of such sepsis in high-risk cases. That the outcome of the inquest did not recommend a change in Irish law does not make Dr…
Patients face €100 fee at minor injury units
Minor injury units, which are open for a limited number of hours, have replaced round-the-clock A&E departments in several hospitals. Monaghan hospital is the latest to announce the charge for its minor injury unit and it came into effect yesterday.…
Proposed Abortion Bill raises issues
The publication of the Heads of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill has, not unexpectedly, led to substantial political and societal debate. But what professional issues will arise for doctors who will be caring for patients under the new…
How I survived my dark night of the soul
When I was discharged, I had a couple of outpatient appointments. There was no explanation of my diagnosis, which was given to me at the end of one of these appointments. Neither was there any discussion of early warning symptoms…
Rubber glove puppets pain relief research
Britain’s Emergency Medicine Journal has unveiled about a cost effective measure to divert children’s attention admitted in emergency care. Physicians at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, said that the most common compliant of children is pain. In order to divert their attention, physicians…
Cecily Begley & Declan Devane on maternity services
In Ireland, over-worked obstetricians are responsible for 30,000 “low-risk” women who do not routinely need their care. Midwives are educated, and qualified, to care for such women. The remaining 40,000 women in Ireland who need medical attention in pregnancy receive…
