Government and HSE appear to hate doctors, new head of the IMO says
Dr Anne Dee calls out ‘underlying hostility’ towards doctors who are blamed for health service woes
Health Service Executive (HSE)
Reimbursing weight loss drugs for all who could benefit would push State’s annual medicines bill to €10bn, doctors told
Clinical pharmacoeconomics lead says one million people could benefit from weight loss drugs, but cost would be ‘unaffordable’
Expansion of therapy services in special schools to start in autumn
Programme will coincide with the establishment of a national therapy service in education, Minister says
Minister tells hospitals group to enact spinal surgery report recommendations fully and quickly
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to seek an update on progress by next week and to meet CHI board again on April 28th
Outsourcing in health service a threat to patients as well as staff, Siptu official tells conference
Private contractors cut costs at the expense of either workers or services, union official says
Deal or no deal? Independent TD claims deal with Government on health projects
Dublin Bay North TD Barry Heneghan issues statement on welcoming a €240 million investment in the HSE capital plan on projects in his constituency
HSE declines to confirm that children offered spinal surgeries abroad
Legal direction from former minister for health requested the board ‘closely monitor progress’
Watchdog report to criticise surgeon over use of unauthorised springs in spinal operations
Minister to brief Cabinet on findings into controversy over children’s operations at Temple Street hospital
HSE spent nearly €23m on private radiotherapy services last year
Gaps in services ‘caused by understaffing and under resourcing’
Measles case reported at Dublin art college in second HSE alert in two days
Staff and students have been warned to be vigilant about symptoms following possible exposure last week
More than 200 children awaiting spinal surgery as Minister says ‘trajectory’ improving
Long waiting lists have resulted in unacceptable delays for children with a deteriorating condition
Donnelly told HSE to send children overseas for spinal surgeries due to disappointment at backlog
In one of last letters as minister for health, Stephen Donnelly directed executive under Health Act to treat children with scoliosis and spina bifida
Health service plans to save €630m: More weekend work, ‘virtual wards’, cutting medical supply and travel costs
Health workforce should be maximised by rostering personnel across five in any seven days a week, Cabinet also to be told
Nobody wants to stay in hospital longer than necessary. There’s a better way to handle patient discharge
Patient care doesn’t pause on weekends. Witnessing medically fit patients stuck in hospital due to discharge delays is deeply frustrating
Teens presenting at EDs with psychosis from legal, semi-synthentic cannabis vaping product, says leading psychiatrist
Mary Cannon says parents are bearing brunt as they see children ‘change before their eyes’
Auditors uncover hundreds of cases of overpayment in HSE worth more than €5 million
HSE says it works to minimise any overpayments in an overall average payroll bill of about €7.5 billion
Mother Denise McGahern says her son Jack was ‘used’ to promote HSE fund
No money paid out of €8m HSE disability fund despite being promised 17 months ago, Dáil told
Surgeons carried out 513 scoliosis procedures last year but 233 children still on waiting list
‘We are nowhere near where we would want to be’ with waiting times, Minister for Health says
St Vincent’s Healthcare Group facing €12.8m deficit for last year
Group that runs St Vincent’s University Hospital and St Michael’s in Dun Laoghaire wants more support from community services to facilitate discharges
Psychiatric medical services set to be disrupted by nurses’ industrial action
Union representing majority of nurses in sector say they will start work to rule this month over staffing levels
Is it true that women need more sleep each night than men?
Research suggests that women experience lower-quality sleep, on average, than men do
ADHD services in Ireland overwhelmed by ‘tsunami’ of demand
Young people aged 16-24 received most ADHD prescriptions, accounting for 43,518 last year, while men and boys accounted for almost 60% of total
Medical supplies delivered offshore by drone in ‘game-changer’ for Ireland’s islands
Drone technology could revolutionise emergency response and healthcare delivery for remote communities, Air Taurus programme director says
HSE to clamp down on staff travel and to send fewer letters as part of new savings drive
Chief executive Bernard Gloster says health service spends €29.8million on postal costs and must move towards communication by text and email
Residents in Wicklow disability care homes at risk of ‘institutional abuse’
Health services watchdog report criticises Sunbeam House’s failure to keep residents with intellectual disabilities safe
Provisional liquidators appointed to Cork medical supplies company
PMD Device Solutions Ltd claims that it is owed €1.2 million by the HSE
Tipperary family settles High Court action against HSE over death of father following collision
Patrick Connolly died on December 28th, 2021, five days after his involvement in a road traffic collision
€420m plan to cut patient waiting lists approved
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill brings memo to Cabinet detailing new waiting list action plan aimed at reducing waiting times for patients
Number of public servants set to exceed 400,000 this year
Pay bill expected to rise to almost €33bn this year, with two-thirds going into health and education sectors
Medical supplies company denies it held HSE to ransom over patient data
Chief executive of Cork-based firm says there was never a threat to sell the data
Demand for HSE’s free ‘talk therapy’ reaches 1,000 a month
Sixty-two per cent of users with clinical levels of anxiety or depression achieved ‘reliable improvement’ in 12-month period to April 2024
Beaumont Hospital warns of risk to services from ageing computer system
Hospital in race to complete replacement of core information system before becoming inoperable by December
Some disability bodies warn cash crisis may force them to delay payments to Revenue Commissioners
A number of organisations providing services to people with disabilities unhappy they were turned down for special funding by HSE in final weeks of last year
Health service warns of ‘significant unmet need’ in HIV drug access
Stigma around HIV ‘still a big challenge’, says senior HSE clinician as 39% of those newly found to have it were late-stage diagnoses
HSE staffing increase would not prevent industrial action, union official warns
Proposed increase of just over 3,500 to staff numbers is intended to cater for new services and so will not address outstanding issues, unions say
HRT scheme roll-out to proceed ‘as soon as possible’, department says
State-funded scheme to provide hormone replacement therapy has been delayed due to issues between Department of Health and pharmacists
HSE told to shift staff working patterns
Donnelly orders new development funding for Beaumont, Mater and Tallaght be paused until new productivity systems implemented
Talks resume between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on new government
Parties report steady progress but difficult areas yet to be discussed
Ireland weather: Tens of thousands without power and schools close as cold snap persists
Met Éireann warns of cold nights over the coming days with widespread frost and ice and temperatures as low as minus 8
Irish health system report card: a year of criticisms, concerns and innovations
From rows about staffing, waiting lists and cost overruns to resignations of senior staff, heathcare was never far from the news headlines in 2024
Total of 263 transplants as a result of organ donations carried out in 2024
HSE commends ‘selflessness of 84 deceased and 30 living organ donors and their families’ who made procedures possible
Flu hospitalisations expected to double in coming 10 days
There could be up to 900 flu cases in hospitals countrywide by end of year, HSE chief clinical director warns, with cases expected to peak in early January
Judge rules new hearing should be held into complaint from family of student who died of brain bleed
Lisa Niland (19) died in Sligo University Hospital in 2017 three days after collapsing due to severe head pain and dizziness
Four-month target for spinal surgery set by Simon Harris has ‘no clinical relevance’
Target is ‘used as a stick to beat us’, says head of State’s paediatric spinal unit
More than 600 people hospitalised with Covid, flu and RSV, says HSE
Almost 2,000 cases of three illnesses notified and EDs have seen significant increases in presentations
Flu cases: Three people have died and over 400 hospitalised this winter season
The number of notified influenza cases increased by 91 per cent in the past week from 277 to 528 cases for the week ending December 8th
Anti-choking devices donated to hundreds of schools despite HSE advising against use
Meals provider Lunch Bag is donating LifeVac devices to schools despite HSE advice that anti-choking devices should not be used due to lack of research on efficacy
UHL chief clinical director to return to role and partake in disciplinary process, High Court hears
HSE to pay 75% of Prof Brian Lenehan’s legal costs for the case
Shane O’Connor inquest jury calls for improved HSE mental health protocols
Teenage son of musicians Sinéad O’Connor and Dónal Lunny died by suicide in January 2022
Dublin City Council ‘excrement’ on shoes of government officials, FG councillor claims
HSE has ‘completely disrespected’ Dublin Fire Brigade ambulance service, council chief Richard Shakespeare says
Shane O’Connor (17) was not receiving 24-hour one-to-one supervision in hospital before suicide, inquest hears
Son of musicians Sinéad O’Connor and Dónal Lunny absconded from Tallaght University Hospital less than 24 hours before his death on January 7th, 2022
Autism: Why are so many children being diagnosed these days?
As many as one in 20 schoolchildren in Ireland may have autism or similar developmental issues, studies suggest
Sinn Féin denies planned ‘piggy bank heist’ as major parties clash over spending
Paschal Donohoe accuses party of ‘raid’ – but Pearse Doherty says party would add more money to future funds
Whooping cough cases in country increase by 3,000% in a year
Latest figures show 567 cases in Ireland up to November 9th, compared to 18 cases in 2023
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