Interview

Ahead of World Thrombosis Day, Consultant Haematologist Dr Barry Kevane spoke with Pat Kelly about the need to identify patients at risk of thrombosis and how those with Covid-19 are at increased risk of the condition Thrombosis is the third-largest cause of mortality worldwide and experts in the field have long been calling for increased…

Mr Kevin O’Boyle, Senior Medical Scientist and Chairperson of the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association (MLSA), speaks to Niamh Cahill about the many challenges facing the profession Hospitals and their patients rely on hospital laboratory staff to provide clinical results round the clock. Lives depend on it. The existence of a significant recruitment and retention issue…

Irish emergency departments are facing into a particularly demanding winter due to Covid-19. David Lynch speaks to Consultant in Emergency Medicine Dr Fergal Hickey about the lack of capacity within the acute sector and the difficulties that lie ahead Emergency departments (EDs) have been “hammered during previous winters and we are going to be hammered…

HIQA recently published an overview report on its monitoring of activity in public acute hospitals in Ireland between 2015 and 2019. The Authority’s Head of Healthcare Mr Sean Egan spoke with Pat Kelly about the positive and negative aspects of the report’s findings Overview Report of Five Years of HIQA Monitoring in Irish Public Acute…

There is a concern that patients with diabetes are presenting to hospital later because of the current pandemic. Paul Mulholland speaks to Clinical Lead, National Clinical Programme for Diabetes, Prof Sean Dinneen about the challenges of providing care during the current crisis The Covid-19 pandemic has had significant ramifications for patients with chronic conditions, such…

Prevalence of lung disease in Ireland was already high prior to Covid-19. David Lynch speaks to the Irish Thoracic Society President Dr Aidan O’Brien about the major impact the pandemic is having on respiratory care The impact of Covid-19 on people with lung disease is “the perfect storm, really”, according to Dr Aidan O’Brien, Consultant…

Paul Mulholland speaks to HSE national antimicrobial resistance and infection control team member Ms Mary McKenna about the importance of hand hygiene in the Covid-19 era Knowledge about the benefits of proper hand hygiene etiquette is at a societal and cultural high point as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent months, public health…

President of the RCPI Prof Mary Horgan is at the Covid-19 coalface as an infectious diseases consultant at Cork University Hospital and continues to advocate for doctors through her College role. She spoke to Catherine Reilly about clinical practice and doctor retention in these challenging times Infectious disease consultants, virologists, microbiologists, public health doctors and…

Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory Dr Cillian De Gascun tells Niamh Cahill he has no doubts about the effectiveness of the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to detect SARS-CoV-2 As the information overload surrounding the novel coronavirus continues, many myths and untruths have emerged.  This is being fuelled by the fact that much remains unknown…

Anaesthesiologists are currently playing a vital role in intensive care units in the fight against Covid-19. President of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland Dr Brian Kinirons speaks to Paul Mulholland about why, despite the risks, morale among anaesthesiologists is high The risk Covid-19 poses to healthcare workers has been one of the dominant themes…