 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Male cancer patients lack support By Eilish O'Regan Monday March 24 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie Men are reluctant to use existing cancer support groups, believing they are "more for women". The findings emerged in a study by Dr Eilis McCaughan and colleagues from the University of Ulster. The researchers found that men want as much information as possible. They expressed a great need for financial advice and felt a considerable financial pressure as a result of their diagnosis and its treatment. However, the report claims that men did not consider attending a cancer support group, for reasons that included: "not their thing", "unaware of their existence", "did not want to commit to long-term programmes" and perceptions of support groups as "more for women to talk about their problems".The study showed the need for cancer support services to take more account of the needs of men.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Salary cap smashed to pay for new HSE director By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent Friday March 21 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie A new Health Service Executive senior director is to get pay and perks far above the salary recommended for the job. The new director of human resources Sean McGrath, who is leaving National Irish Bank to take on the post, is to be paid a basic salary of €205,000, a performance-related bonus of 25pc and a pension contribution based on 25pc of basic pay. However, the recommended salary for the job is €159,179, according to the latest report on health service salaries. Part of Mr McGrath's task will be to trim the wage bill in the HSE and not let employment levels exceed 112,245 in the health service this year. Last year's recruitment freeze led to 1,000 posts being taken out of the system, with a saving of €55m. A spokesperson for the HSE said yesterday: "Sean McGrath has been recommended for appointment as HSE national director of human resources following a recent publicly advertised recruitment campaign conducted through the Public Appointments Service." Process Asked why he was getting above the rate, the spokesperson said that following a recruitment process conducted by the Public Appointments Service, " a private sector candidate was identified". "The HSE sought the approval of the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Finance to pay a salary higher than the rate recommended by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration to secure his appointment. "On that basis, the Department of Health and Children conveyed the sanction of the Department of Finance for a remuneration package, on the basis of a five-year fixed-term non-renewable contract". Mr McGrath, who will preside over the biggest single workforce in the State, will have to deal with a possible redundancy programme which could yet be introduced later this year in a bid to slim down the HSE at middle-management level. IMPACT trade union is also conducting a ballot of about 35,000 members in the health service next month and this is expected to lead to a threat of industrial action. The ongoing failure to fill hundreds of posts is among their grievances. It emerged this week the wages bill for HSE managers and administration had risen by €95m between 2005 and 2007. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Call for HSE to meet in public [Posted: Fri 21/03/2008] Courtesy of Irish Health.com Doctors have called for the monthly meetings of the HSE board to be held in public. Under the old health board system, monthly meetings of the board were held in public and were reported on in the media. However, the monthly meetings of the HSE's governing board have been held in private since the establishment of the new health authority in January 2005. A motion before next week's AGM of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), in Killarney calls for the meetings to be held in public in the interest of democratic accountability for the spending public money. The motion calls on the Minister for Health and the Oireachtas Health Committee to ensure that this change takes place. The minutes of the HSE Board meetings are posted on the HSE website some time a number of weeks after the meetings have been held. The monthly report by the CEO to the HSE board is currently not made public. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HSE in talks to provide cover for ambulance strike Thursday March 20 2008 COURTESY OF INDEPENDENT.IE Talks between representatives of ambulance personnel and the HSE are continuing in Dublin in an attempt to agree emergency cover arrangements for a strike planned for next month. A total of 1,200 ambulance personnel are planning to strike on April the 7th over claims the HSE breached an agreement when it signed contracts with three private ambulance operators. The Health Service Executive denies SIPTU claims that the contracts are part of a move to privatise the ambulance service. Chairman of the Irish Ambulance Representatives Council John Duggan said, "We had a ballot throughout our members and we got in excess of 95% of a return in favour of industrial action because people, they really do feel very let down."
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Less radiation ‘still effective’ in cancer fight By Jeremy Laurance Wednesday March 19 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie A REVOLUTION in radiotherapy treatment for cancer could be near after 10-year trials showed less radiation delivered in fewer doses is just as effective in preventing return of the disease.Two trials involving almost 4,500 women with breast cancer found that reducing the overall dose of radiation by 20pc and the number of sessions by 40pc helped cut side effects without increasing cancer recurrence. The finding could mean a reduction in the international standard radiotherapy schedule for early breast cancer, which says that women should receive 50 gray of radiation in 25 equal doses over five weeks. It could also have implications for other cancers of glandular tissue, such as prostate cancer. In women with breast cancer, radiotherapy is normally given after chemotherapy. The present regime means women must attend hospital five days a week for five weeks, spending an hour or more queuing for the radiotherapy machine, being correctly positioned under it and receiving their daily dose. NORMAL Women in the two trials, called Start A and B (Standardisation of Breast Radiotherapy Trial), attended clinics three days a week over five weeks with a total dose of between 39 and 41.6 gray, compared with the normal 50 gray. Five years on, recurrence rates of breast cancer in women on both trials were no different from those who had the standard treatment, but long-term side effects on the breast of hardening (due to fibrosis) and shrinkage were reduced. The research was done in 17 UK centres in the first trial and 23 centres in the second trial. The findings are published online in Lancet Oncology and The Lancet. Professor John Yarnold, of the department of clinical radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, south-west London, who led the trials, said: “If these results are confirmed and adopted internationally then what women will notice is that hospitals start shortening their radiotherapy schedules, which will be more convenient for them. “But if giving radiotherapy in 15 fractions is just as effective as 25, that is unlikely to be the limit. We have a study under way with 900 women who are being given radiotherapy in five fractions, once a week for five weeks.” |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
What is: winter vomiting bug? by Rowena Walsh Monday March 17 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie The winter vomiting bug, as the name suggests, is a condition that causes vomiting, as well as diarrhoea, headache and fever. The virus that causes the condition is highly contagious and is responsible for significant outbreaks in institutional settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or confined environments such as cruise ships. Contrary to the name, the vomiting bug can occur in summer as well as winter, although it is more common during the colder months. Winter vomiting bug is usually caused by one of a family of viruses known as noroviruses. These viruses can be present in contaminated drinking water or foodstuffs such as shellfish, salads and fruits. Once a primary infection has occurred, the virus can be transmitted from person to person in the air or on surfaces. Faecal matter contains significant quantities of virus and can cause the spread of the disease from toilet seats and toilet handles, for example. The symptoms of the disease occur 12-24 hours after infection and they persist for about three days. They typically include sudden nausea and projectile vomiting, watery diarrhoea, fever, aching limbs and stomach cramps. A person remains contagious for up to two days after the symptoms have subsided. Since the infection is caused by a virus, antibiotics are ineffective against the condition. Symptomatic treatments can be given to reduce the vomiting and diarrhoea and it is important to maintain hydration, particularly in very young or elderly patients. Once a person has had winter vomiting bug, they have very limited immunity against future infection. However, since the virus family is quite large, future infections are likely to be caused by a different strain of the virus.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HSE admin bill hits €587m By Michael Brennan Political Correspondent Monday March 17 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie THE wage bill for administrative staff in the HSE has increased by almost €100m in the last three years, according to new figures. The overall number of administrators and managers has increased by 781 in the last year alone, bringing the total figure to more than 18,000. According to information released to the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the amount spent by the HSE on these staff increased from €492m in 2005 to €587m last year. Yet the HSE is preparing to cut up to 1,000 admin jobs from the 18,000 administrators and managers it employs at a cost of €75m. PAC chairman, the Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen, said the figures raised major questions about the planned redundancy programme. "You'd have to wonder how many of the staff employed in recent years are going to be let off again? There are huge questions to be answered by Professor Brendan Drumm at our next meeting," he said. Salary Mr Allen said the committee would also be examining the HSE's plan to appoint a new human resources manager on a salary of €300,000 a year. The HSE's administrative and managerial staff account for 16pc of its 111,000 employees. Its planned redundancy package would reduce annual wage costs by €50m and reduce much of the bureaucracy generated since the merging of the 11 former health boards to create the HSE. The HSE has pointed out that those employed in administration include front-line staff such as A&E receptionists, consultant's secretaries, outpatient staff and medical record staff. It has also stated that the increase in administrative staff is partly due to the inclusion of staff from previously separate agencies such as the Office for Health Management and the HSE-Employers Agency. However, the 18,043 people employed in the administrative section still outnumbers the 15,705 health and social care professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapist, dieticians and speech and language therapists. According to new figures, the HSE spent €135m on overtime for junior doctors last year despite the introduction of stricter control of rosters. The HSE said that it now required hospital managers to give approval for all overtime work by junior doctors. "Overtime claims which do not have the required approval will not be paid and will be returned to the individual junior doctor for correction," it said. It spent €4bn of its €13bn budget last year on hospital services, providing 3.8 million overnight bed stays for patients and 1.18 million attendances at A&E departments. It received €146m from private insurers such as the VHI in 2006 for the use of public beds and other publicly-funded health facilities.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Warning on cancer screening roll-out [Posted: Thu 13/03/2008 by Niall Hunter, Editor] Courtesy of Irish Health.com A warning that the national roll-out of the cervical screening programme may run into difficulties with its implementation was made by the IMO today. Incoming IMO President Dr Martin Daly warned that the National Cancer Screening Service had not negotiated a contract with the IMO for the provision of screening by GPs, and he warned that the scheme could be unsustainable. At a press conference today, Dr Daly said it would be up to individual GPs whether to accept the contract offered without negotiation; the contract includes a GP fee of €55 per screening.He said that while GPs supported the roll-out of the scheme nationally, an agreed contract had not been negotiated. Meanwhile, the IMO's Chief Executive George Mc Neice told the press conference that no taxpayers' money had been spent on the consumer health website run by the IMO, mygp.ie, which was taken offline late last year amid concerns about future funding for the site. Over €2 million of State-backed funding had been spent on the website up to 2004, after which it was funded by the IMO. Mr Mc Neice said the money spent on the website arose from a negotiated agreement in relation to the GP drug budgeting scheme, which related to drugs and medicines prescribed in the medical card scheme. Monies for the site came from savings made on drug spending by GPs, he said. "There was never any taxpayers' money spent," he stressed. Mr Mc Neice said he could not comment further on the matter as there is a legal case in progress; there had been a proposal that mediation would take place and that was the current position. The HSE is reported to have offered an independent mediation process in relation to the website with regard to addressing areas of mutual concern with a view to having the website recommence operation. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Managers say patients not getting best care [Posted: Thu 13/03/2008 by Niall Hunter, Editor] Courtesy of Irish Health .com Health service managers have said they are committed to learning the lessons of last week's review reports on the Portlaoise breast cancer crisis, but have stressed that many patients are not receiving best care under the current hospital system. One of last week's reports, the Fitzgerald review, was critical of weaknesses in governance, management and communications within the HSE. However, managers have said they feel uncomfortable managing in a system that is not organised to deliver best outcomes for patients and stress that the system must be changed in the interest of the patient. Amid a torrent of criticism from politicians, the media and the general public about the management failures identified in the reports, Health Minister Mary Harney has said new systems will be put in place within the HSE and her own Department to rectify the deficiencies. The Health Management Institute of Ireland (HMI) in a statement, said the conclusions and findings of the Fitzgerald report are of particular interest to all health managers. The HMI says that since the health service does not have the information systems to enable judgements to be made on the relative performance of hospitals, early warning systems are not available and managers have to rely on on individuals coming forward to disclose poor performance. The managers' group says services are not yet organised to deliver best outcomes for patients. "For example, triple assessment for patients with breast disease symptoms was not offered at Portlaoise Hospital." "A system that is inherently flawed, no matter how competent the clinicians and managers are or how hard they work, will experience more tragedies," the HMI said. The group stresses that irrespective of how well an incident is managed and how sensitively communications are handled, the point which must not be lost sight of is that many patients are not receiving best care, and nine women were not diagnosed at Portlaoise when they originally presented. The HMI says it welcomes the move to develop protocols to guide and inform the conduct of investigations and reviews. "Our members also recognise the need to be trained and familiar with good practice in the conduct of investigations and reviews. Ongoing staff training and development must not be an easy option when cost reductions are needed," the managers' group said. The HMI has pointed out that 40 years ago, another report, also called the Fitzgerald report, recommended a major reorganisation of hospital services into bigger units, but this was not implemented. It said reorganisation of hospitals requires political, clinical and managerial leadership and courage.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Non-Hodgkin survival rates increasing [Posted: Wed 12/03/2008 by Deborah Condon] Courtesy of Irish Helath .com Survival rates for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma appear to have increased since the 1990s, researchers have said.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Men not using cancer help services [Posted: Wed 12/03/2008 by Niall Hunter, Editor] Courtesy of Irish Health.com Men are reluctant to use support services for people with cancer, with some believing that these groups are aimed more at women than men, new Irish research has found. The research, carried out at the Institute of Nursing Research at the University of Ulster, found that men are anxious to get as much information as possible on their cancer and its effects. They expressed a great need for financial advice and felt considerable financial pressure as a result of their diagnosis and treatment. However, the study found that the men with cancer did not consider attending a cancer support group. The reasons given included that it was 'not their thing'; 'unaware of their existence'; and 'did not want to commit to long-term programmes of support'. The men interviewed as part of the study also felt that support groups were aimed more at women to allow them to talk about their problems, than at men. The study also found that men can find it difficult to talk openly about their condition and it s implications, yet can also feel very vulnerable and alone. The study, funded by Action Cancer Northern Ireland, involved in-depth interviews of men with cancer. Report author Dr Eilis McCaughan said there is a clear need for cancer support services to develop greater gender sensitivity and take account of male values.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Radical overhaul of HSE was considered over mismanagement DR MUIRIS HOUSTON, Medical Correspondent Courtesy of theIrish Times.ie THE DEPARTMENT of Health held high-level discussions about the future of the Health Service Executive (HSE) prior to the publication of three reports into the Portlaoise breast cancer debacle, it has emerged. The Irish Times understands that consideration was given to a radical restructuring of the struggling national health authority that would have involved at least a partial return to the regionalisation of health services in the State. However, a significant restructuring has now been ruled out, with the emphasis to be placed instead on overhauling work processes within the HSE. A number of sources have confirmed that, such is the level of concern about mismanagement and governance issues in the health service, senior officials in the Department of Health examined the possibility of breaking the HSE into smaller management units analogous to the old health board structures. But this was rejected on the basis that the time-scale needed to restructure the organisation significantly was too great. A strategy of seeking to implement a series of short-term gains in specific projects is to be pursued instead. Meanwhile, the HSE has itself brought in management consultants McKinsey to work with senior executives in the organisation. Last week's report by John Fitzgerald, the former Dublin city manager, into the HSE's management of missed cancers at Portlaoise hospital, identified a number of key deficiencies. According to Mr Fitzgerald, "there was a fundamental weakness in the management and governance of this process from the outset" He specifically criticised the lack of terms of reference and protocols for the review process. Mr Fitzgerald's report has crystallised concerns within the Department of Health and the health service generally that similar governance deficiencies exist right across the HSE. Decision-making has almost ceased at a local and regional level, with a direct effect on front-line patient services. Describing the HSE as "a ship perilously close to the rocks", a senior source last night said: "Decision-making ability is indirectly proportional to the number of managers involved". Further evidence of high-level concern about the HSE was contained in the response of Minister for Health Mary Harney to the Portlaoise reports. "I have asked the board [ of the HSE] to consider whether the lessons arising from the systemic weaknesses of governance and management which have been identified in relation to the events at Portlaoise have wider applications across the HSE," she said. Ms Harney added: "I have also asked the secretary general of my department, in consultation with the chief medical officer, to review and strengthen the procedures in place within the department to deal with clinical safety issues, with a view to ensuring that a clinical perspective is brought to these at all stages".
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Carers' Strategy being developed [Posted: Mon 10/03/2008] Courtesy of Irish Health.com Members of the public, particularly family and informal carers, are being encouraged to participate in the consultation process for a new National Carers’ Strategy.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aspirin may reduce risk of breast cancer by a fifth By Jane Kirby Friday March 07 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie Drugs like aspirin can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 20 per cent, according to a review of studies published over the past 27 years. Scientists analysed 21 studies involving more than 37,000 women and found an overall decreased risk for women taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They also discovered that they could play a role in treating women already diagnosed with breast cancer. However, the researchers cautioned that more studies were needed on the ideal type of drug, dose and duration before there was any big push to get women to take the drugs routinely. They also warned that more research was needed on whether any benefits outweighed side-effects in the long term. They concluded: "There may be a role for NSAIDs in combination with endocrine therapies as either an adjuvant or palliative treatment for women with established breast cancer." Ian Fentiman, professor of oncology at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, carried out the study, published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice. He said: "Our review suggests that, in addition to possible prevention, there may also be a role for NSAIDs in treatment of women with established breast cancer. NSAID use could be combined with hormone therapy." "NSAIDs may well offer protection against developing breast cancer in the first place and may provide a useful addition to treatment available to women who already have the disease. Recent studies of NSAIDs use have shown about a 20 per cent risk reduction in incidence of breast cancer, but this benefit may be confined to aspirin use alone and not other NSAIDs." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Harney defends establishment of HSE Thursday, 6 March 2008 15:17 Courtesy of RTE News on line Minister for Health Mary Harney has been defending the establishment of the Health Service Executive. Ms Harney told an Oireachtas Health Committee that a unified delivery service had been long overdue. She said the country would not be in a position to have eight designated centres of excellence without the establishment of a unified health service such as the HSE.She said the HSE was only three years old and that she strongly believed the HSE had the capacity to make sure the problems identified in the reports into breast cancer services in the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise could be put right. Professor Brendan Drumm said he had absolutely no disagreement with comments made by the author of one of the reports. Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, Ann O'Doherty said the level of inevitable delayed misdiagnosis found at Portlaoise was six times higher than the acceptable 1% level. Professor Drumm said her comments related to a high quality symptomatic service with triple assessments and that was why the HSE was trying to set up these centres of excellence. Fine Gael Health Spokesperson James Reilly said the Fitzgerald Report showed there was an absolute failure of the HSE at all levels. Labour Party Health Spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan said that unless the process and procedures were in place then patients would suffer. The Health Minister said that Professor Tom Keane, who is now in charge of cancer strategy, was in the process of agreeing a new common referral method.The methos would separate the urgent from the non-urgent so that those who really need a mammogram would have access to it quickly, she said. Dr Ann O'Doherty, author of one of yesterday's three critical reports, said women should not be put off going to centres of excellence.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Harney and Drumm face grilling over cancer reports Thursday March 06 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie The Minister for Health and the chief executive of the HSE are set to face a grilling over cancer treatment services when they appear before an Oireachtas committee at Leinster House today. The meeting follows yesterday's publication of three reports into the breast cancer misdiagnosis scandal at Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise. The reports were severely critical of the HSE, but no individuals have been blamed for the blunders that led to nine women being mistakenly given the all-clear for cancer. Opposition politicians have already attacked Health Minister Mary Harney and HSE chief Brendan Drumm for failing to accept responsibility for the situation. However, Ms Harney and Mr Drumm say their contentious plan to introduce centres of excellence for cancer patients would ensure such scenarios do not arise in the future.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Radiologist invited back to work [Posted: Wed 05/03/2008] Courtesy of Irish Health .com The radiologist who was placed on leave in the wake of the breast cancer screening controversy at Portlaoise Hospital has been invited by the HSE to return to work. The HSE's invitation to Dr Visa Moodley was made as the Department of Health and HSE are due to publish reports today on the breast cancer testing controversy at the midlands hospital, in which nine women were wrongly given the all clear for breast cancer following mammograms. Dr Moodley has said she believed a review would show that she did not fail in her duty of care to the women tested, and said she was distressed by reports that she was responsible for failing to identify breast cancer in a number of women. Two of the reports to be published today will deal with how the HSE handled the breast cancer testing crisis at One of the issues to be focused on today will be the HSE's announcement in November that around 100 women were to be recalled for review following breast ultrasounds. This announcement was made before the women concerned had been informed and only just after health Minister Mary Harney and HSE CEO Brendan Drumm knew of it. One of the reports due out today is expected to be strongly critical of the HSE.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Damning cancer care report lifts lid on litany of problems Portlaoise hospital in Co Laois where nine women were wrongly given the all-clear for breast cancer By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent Wednesday March 05 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie A damning report into the Portlaoise Hospital scandal is expected to reveal a litany of problems in the breast cancer care unit which left women at risk of misdiagnosis. The report which examined how nine women were wrongly given the all-clear for breast cancer, following a recall of 3,000 patients, will acknowledge errors occur in breast screening. However, the report drawn up by consultant radiologist Ann O'Doherty, is understood to highlight an absence of systems in the hospital which would reduce this risk of mistake. Key deficiencies include: > a lack of expertise in mammography by the main radiologist involved in screening; > an absence of triple assessment, a system of medical checks which cut down on the chances of misdiagnosis; > a lack of multi-disciplinary meetings to review cases; > a mammography machine in use for 15 years, despite having only an 11-year life-span. Breast cancer screening was stopped in the hospital last August and a consultant radiologist, Dr Visa Moodley, was placed on temporary suspension after management said they were concerned at the number of women wrongly referred on for further procedures, who were clear of cancer. But a recall of 3,000 women revealed nine had wrongly been given the all-clear. These women will have first sight of the report before it is published later today. Two other reports on how the crisis was handled -- including the failure to inform Health Minister Mary Harney and HSE chief Brendan Drumm that several hundred more women were being recalled for ultrasounds -- will also be published. Last night Prof Niall O'Higgins, chairman of the expert group on breast cancer services, whose recommendations for safer care and re-organisation of services in 2000 were ignored, said it will be wrong if somebody in management is not held to account for errors. Stressed He stressed: "That is one of the problems in the past that has bedevilled the Midlands where medical people did not get the support from the administration." Prof O'Higgins, who chaired another group which set out the standards for safe practice in breast cancer units last year, said there should be no delay in building up the eight hospitals designated as centres of excellence. "If there is a Government proposal accepted they really ought to get on and implement it." Nineteen hospitals are still providing symptomatic breast-disease services but just four are seeing the recommended excess of 150 new patients a year. Meanwhile, the Government last night vehemently denied covering up the extent of cancer misdiagnosis last year. The HSE deliberately decided not to release figures on the patients' misdiagnosed by a Finnish pathologist to avoid "widespread alarm". - Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Patients not given treatment options By Eilish O'Regan Tuesday March 04 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie THREE hospitals were criticised yesterday for allowing patients to remain on waiting lists when they could be referred for free private treatment. Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, Letterkenny General in Donegal and Sligo General continue to have the highest number of patients waiting over a year for procedures. Pat O'Byrne of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) said that since January the patients' group had written to 2,200 individuals who'd been waiting over a year for treatment from public hospitals, asking them to take up the offer of free private surgery. Overall, there are around 4,000 patients who've been waiting a year or more for procedures, according to the most recent figures. Mr O'Byrne said: "We would like to see referrals from hospitals with longest waiting lists -- it is unacceptable for people to be waiting long. These three hospitals are not referring at the same pace as others." He believed that many of the patients had the type of procedures which could be dealt with on a daycare basis. The NTPF has so far contacted 50,000 patients on outpatient lists and 10,500 appointments were arranged last year and Mr O'Byrne said they had paid for around 5,000 colonoscopies to diagnose possible bowel cancer since it was set up in 2002. Speaking at the ceremony to mark the 100,00th patient treated by the NTPF yesterday, Health Minister Mary Harney, whose PD party dreamt up the scheme, insisted it was good value for money. So far the largest number of patients to be treated by the NTPF have come from Dublin hospitals (26,813). These have been followed by patients from Galway (11,380), Wexford (3,679) and Waterford (3,656).
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Concern over high radon levels [Posted: Mon 03/03/2008 by Deborah Condon] Courtesy Of Irish Health.com Householders are being urged to test their homes for the radioactive gas, radon, after a house in Tipperary was found to have levels 45 times above the acceptable limit. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medics group to speak out over HSE cuts By Eilish O'Regan Monday March 03 2008 Courtesy of Independent.ie More than 50 hospital consultants and GPs in the northeast have formed a new advocacy group to highlight concerns about health services in the region. Earlier this year, a leaked memo disclosed how the Health Service Executive (HSE) was looking at a range of cuts in services this year to stay within budget. It could mean reductions in non-emergency hospital operations and curtailment of outpatient clinics. The new group, called the North-East Clinicians (NEC), are now planning to speak out about the impact of cuts on patient care.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Patients waiting up to 18 months for crucial cancer tests Courtesy of the Irish Times Sat. 1st March 08 PUBLIC PATIENTS can be waiting up to a year and a half for crucial tests to determine if they are suffering from conditions such as bowel cancer, according to new figures. Eithne Donnellan , Health Correspondent, reports. The data, obtained by The Irish Times , shows patients can wait up to months for a colonoscopy examination at Portlaoise General Hospital, up to 12 months for the test at Tullamore General Hospital or University College Hospital Galway, and up nine months at Limerick Regional Hospital or Kerry General Hospital. Waiting times can be up to eight months at Wexford General Hospital and St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny, while patients can wait up to six months at Naas General Hospital and Dublin's Mater hospital. The hospitals say that patients marked as in urgent need of the internal bowel examination by their referring GP are seen much faster - within a matter of days or weeks - and that only those who are classed routine referrals have to wait for long periods. However, a woman who attended her family doctor last November and who was referred to the Mater hospital for a colonoscopy, has told this newspaper she won't be seen for the examination until April, some five months after first presenting to her doctor, even though her symptoms include bleeding from her back passage, which would suggest her case could be urgent. The revelation of these latest waiting times will be an embarrassment to the Government, which promised last year to make every effort to ensure cases like that of Kilkenny woman Susie Long were not allowed to recur. Ms Long had her bowel cancer diagnosis delayed after having to wait seven months for a colonoscopy. She died last October, but not before highlighting the injustices in a two-tier health system that saw her having to wait months for a vital test because she was a public patient, while a patient she knew with private health insurance was scheduled for the diagnostic test within three days. The Health Service Executive said hospitals were working closely with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to cut waiting times. It also said waiting lists were being checked to see if those who were named as waiting longest still in fact required a colonoscopy. "If the procedure is still required, then patients can be assessed for eligibility for NTPF," it said. The NTPF can buy treatment in private hospitals for public patients on a waiting list for more than three months. Health insurance industry sources have said a public patient who does not have insurance and who wants to be seen faster privately would probably pay about €4,300 for a colonoscopy. Meanwhile, the HSE suggested because waiting list figures supplied by its hospitals hadn't been validated, they should be treated with "caution". Furthermore, it said patients classed as in urgent need of a colonoscopy were "usually seen in less than five weeks across the HSE areas". The difficulty, however, is for GPs to know when patients should be classed as urgent. Dr Martin Daly, chairman of the GP committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, said if a patient had very clear symptoms, such as passing blood, an experienced family doctor would advocate that they be seen immediately for a colonoscopy, and in most such cases they would be seen rapidly. "However the problem is that many symptoms of bowel disease can be quite subtle, especially in the early stages of cancer, at a time when you want to pick up cases so you have the greatest chances of effecting a complete cure . . . and with the best will in the world, if the symptoms are subtle there is an increased risk of people who have early signs of cancer falling through the net," he said. Prof Tom Keane, interim director of the State's cancer control programme, acknowledged the difficulty facing GPs at a recent appearance before the Oireachtas health committee when he said: "There is a mechanism in place for an urgent referral through general practitioners, but it depends on the GP identifying the patient . . . as someone who is at a higher risk than someone with minor symptoms who is looking for a colonoscopy to be reassured."
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||