Posts by David Lynch
Taoiseach contacts Minister Harris on constituent concerns
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar wrote letters to Minister for Health Simon Harris on a wide range of health issues raised by constituents and members of the public in the first third of this year, according to correspondence seen by the Medical Independent under Freedom of Information law. In emails and letters to Minister Harris in the…
Read MoreDoH spends €635K on ‘consultancy’
The Department of Health spent €635,206 on “consultancy service providers” in 2018. The figures were released in response to a parliamentary question from Deputy Mattie McGrath. Included in the figures was a total payment of €230,000 to the RCPI and ICGP for “development of clinical guidelines for termination of pregnancy”. The next-highest expenditure was €87,484,…
Read MoreNo sexual health lead despite PrEP roll-out
The HSE has no date yet for the appointment of a new clinical lead for sexual health. “The HSE has received confirmation from the consultant applications advisory committee that it has approved the appointment of a medical director for sexual health. This confirmation was received in July 2019,” an Executive spokesperson told the Medical Independent…
Read MoreUnprecedented smoking cessation levels seen in alpha-1 patients
A new Irish study has found that a diagnosis of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), regardless of severity, leads to long-term smoking cessation, with higher quit levels seen than among patients with lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The new research, conducted with the help of participants in the National AATD Registry at Beaumont…
Read MorePatient safety and quality framework for cancer ‘scaled down’
Work on a new cancer patient safety and quality framework has been subject to a “scaling down” as a result of changes in the organisations responsible for the project, the Medical Independent (MI) can report. A recommendation in the national cancer strategy states that the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) “will ensure that each hospital…
Read MoreLack of staff for systemic therapy programme classed as ‘risk’ — NCCP
The lack of staffing for the systemic therapy programme presents a risk to implementing a new model of care in the area, according to the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). A meeting of the NCCP’s executive management team in March heard that additional manpower resources are required for the systemic therapy programme to carry out…
Read MoreA list of sixty-eight, and counting
Irish medicine must remember, and celebrate, our female superheroes As part of her homework recently, my 11-year-old daughter was told to come up with a brand-new superhero. She decided that she wanted to be a girl whose superpower was saving the planet. My suggestion of GretaGirl was met with a withering look. “It has to…
Read MoreSports Quiz – 14 November 2019
The winner of the sports quiz will receive €50 Sports Quiz – 14 November 2019 If you are human, leave this field blank. Question 1 Which golf course will host the 2020 Irish Open? * Question 2 Who won the FAI Cup final earlier this month? * Question 3 Katie Taylor recently won another world…
Read MorePromoting respiratory lung health in Ireland
Ahead of the Irish Thoracic Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Galway, Sarah Gallagher spoke to Consultant Respiratory Physician and local organiser Prof Anthony O’Regan about the agenda and issues facing respiratory medicine The lung disciplines are very broad, so we represent a huge community of patients, their relatives, and obviously our clinical practitioners around the…
Read MoreBridging the north-south divide
Sandra Ryan speaks to Irish Society of Gastroenterology President Dr Tony Tham in advance of the Society’s Winter Meeting 2019 Specialists will gather in Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel in Killiney, Co Dublin, on 21-22 November for the annual Irish Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) Winter Meeting, where topics for discussion include an update on managing autoimmune hepatitis;…
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