Minister Roisin Shortall announces a phased introduction of the free GP care scheme
‘Approved by the Irish Government’
THE PHASED INTRODUCTION of free GP care has been approved, the Minister of State for Primary Care revealed today.
Roisin Shortall announced that the Government has given its approval to the preparation by the Department of Health of Heads of a Bill to progress the phased introduction of a free GP care in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government.
The first phase will allow for the extension of access to free GP services for those with illnesses or disabilities to be prescribed by regulations under the new legislation.
Shortall said she intended to have the legislation drafted and enacted before the summer recess.
In January, The Minister for Health Dr James Reilly told the Dáil that all claimants of free drugs on the Long-Term Illness Scheme would have free access to GP care by the summer. Those who are signed onto the High-Tech Drugs Scheme would receive care from GPs without cost from 2013, he added.
Unemployed in Ireland “two or three times more likely” to die by suicide – Says Fine Gael TD
Mr. Dan Neville above left in his capacity as President of the Irish Association of Suicidology at the opening of its annual conference in 2005.
THE PRESIDENT OF the Irish Association of Irish Suicidology has warned that unemployed people are two to three times more likely to die by suicide than those who are in employment.
Dan Neville, who is also a Fine Gael TD for Limerick, was speaking at a conference in the county this week. He said that unemployment is a factor which is associated with a 70 per cent higher risk of suicide. However, he did say that “the high rate of suicide among the unemployed is partly because people with a psychiatric illness are more likely to lose their jobs”.
Despite this, said Neville at the Working Together to Prevent Suicide event in Templeglantine, “even among people with no history of serious mental illness, unemployment is associated with a 70 per cent higher suicide risk”.
He also made a link between the rise in alcohol consumption during a recession, saying that people in despair can often turn to substance misuse. He said:
When someone loses their job, there is a perceived loss of social worth. Job loss, insecurity and uncertainty coupled with economic strain and the possible threat of home repossession can have a severe impact on mental well-being.
It should be noted that there are often inter-related factors in cases of suicide – some of these are detailed in the list of factors on the Association of Suicidology’s website.
Neville said that implementation of a vision for change, recommendations from an expert group in 2006 on improving mental health services in Ireland, is “essential”. HSE updates on implementation of those changes can be seen here but according to the recent annual report of the Inspector of Mental Health Service, there was an increase in admissions to mental health services last year.
Dr Edmund O’Dea, chairman of the Service, said that it “remains to be seen” whether the €35 million ring-fenced for improvements in 2012 will actually have to be used to keep current services running smoothly.
Education cutbacks: Over 200 primary schools win a reprieve and won’t lose a teacher
The Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been criticised after he announced that small and rural schools could face cuts and lose teachers, after appeals & protests OVER 200 primary schools who were scheduled to lose a teacher this year, have now won their appeals against the decision.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said fears that many smaller schools would be badly hit have been allayed.
A total of 367 schools appealed the planned staff reduction to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board and 200 appeals were upheld.
Seventy-two small schools submitted applications to the appeals board and 34 of those were upheld so in fact there hasn’t been the massive decimation of rural Ireland, as had been claimed by some spokespersons,” Mr Quinn said.
The cutbacks, where schools needed 14 rather than 12 pupils to secure a second teacher, provoked major protests in areas such as Donegal, where it was claimed that 100 schools would be closed, and in Roscommon, where similar numbers were cited.
Mr Quinn said the response to the issue had been marked by “grossly exaggerated scaremongering for political advantage”.
Affected schools were able to appeal the loss of teachers to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board on the basis that future enrolments justified the retention of their current roster of teachers.
Outpatients failed to turn up for 35,000 appointments
in Galway’s (UHG and Merlin Park) last year
Patients did not show up for 35,000 outpatient appointments at Galway University Hospitals (UHG and Merlin Park) last year.
That’s according to Bill Maher, the newly appointed chief executive of the Galway Roscommon University Hospital Group.
Addressing a meeting of the HSE West’s regional health forum in Merlin Park earlier this week he said this resulted in a reduction in the hospital’s capacity to see new patients and added considerably to waiting lists.
He hoped all patients would make every effort to attend their designated appointments or would notify the hospitals concerned in advance so that their slots may be offered to other patients.
Mr Maher, who briefed members of the forum – all councillors – about the new hospital group which was set up in January and comprises Galway University Hospitals, Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe and Roscommon County Hospital – stated the new structure brings the hospitals together as a single unit.
Its aim is to reduce emergency department admission waiting times; to meet the Department of Health’s targets for inpatient waiting lists and to deliver the 2012 service plan.
So far this year Galway University Hospitals is making “significant progress” with the number of patients who have to wait for a bed and the length of time they have to wait.
Tony Canavan, chief operating officer of the Galway Roscommon University Hospital Group said it has been steadily reducing the waiting times for admission from the ED since the beginning of the year.
“Since January the highest number of patients waiting in the ED for longer than 18 hours was 12 and this occurred on February 21. The situation improved in March when we had 21 days when there were no patients waiting longer than 18 hours and this pattern has continued into April.
“We monitor the bed situation very closely with an initial report every morning at 6.30am followed by a meeting at 8am to decide what actions need to be taken. One of the key differences in our approach this year is the introduction and implementation of the Full Capacity Protocol. The protocol comes into effect when the number of patients on trolleys in the ED reaches a certain threshold and we then transfer a maximum of two patients to each ward from the ED. This approach has reduced the time that it takes to admit a patient to an actual bed on a hospital ward.”
The opening of a medical assessment unit and a short stay medical ward at GUH in January means that patients are admitted under the correct speciality and into the appropriate ward which has improved the efficiency of the hospital considerably, he added.
Another priority is to meet the inpatient waiting list targets set by the Department of Health’s special delivery unit. This stipulates that patients should wait no longer than nine months for an inpatient or daycase procedure.
Mr Maher outlined that a range of measures has been introduced which is helping the organisation achieve this target. These include waiting list validation, improved reporting and focus, more effective use of resources across all of the hospitals in the group, patient education and engagement as well as increasing theatre capacity by opening previously closed theatres.
“In January, GUH had 9,901 patients who would potentially breach the target of waiting longer than nine months if they were not seen by the target date of 30 September. As of the 19 April, we have reduced the number waiting to 5,524 patients and we are on course to achieve the special delivery unit target in September. This is a tremendous achievement and I would like to thank all the staff throughout the group who have helped us get this position and who remain focused on achieving the target.”
The SDU launched an initiative to deal with the outpatient waiting list in March, similar to the project to deal with inpatient waiting lists.
“We are currently preparing to take part in the latest SDU initiative and our aim is to use the resources of all the hospitals in the group to reduce the numbers waiting,” said Mr Maher. “Currently there are 40,517 patients on the outpatient waiting list for GUH; this is an unvalidated list and may include duplicate patients as we know that some patients are routinely referred for the same or similar services to a number of hospitals. We expect the actual number of patients waiting to reduce following the validation exercise.
“We will then look at managing capacity and demand by converting follow-up clinics so that new patients can be seen and also where need be by adding additional clinics.”
‘Pizza topping herb Oregano’ can help with treatment of prostate cancer
The herb oregano, often used as a pizza ingredient, could help fight prostate cancer, according to researchers in the US.
The common pizza topping, which is also used to season pasta, could potentially be used to treat prostate cancer, according to researchers at Long Island University (LIU) in New York.
The herb has been long renowned for its various health benefits and now scientists at the university are testing carvacrol, a constituent of oregano, on prostate cancer cells.
The results of the study demonstrate that carvacrol induces apoptosis in these cells, according to Dr Supriya Bavadekar, who is Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at LIU’s Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Apoptosis is programmed cell death, or simply ‘cell suicide’.
“We know that oregano possesses anti-bacterial as well as anti-inflammatory properties, but its effects on cancer cells really elevate the spice to the level of a super-spice like turmeric,” said Dr Bavadekar.
The research team is now working to determine the signaling pathways that the compound carvacrol uses to bring about cancer cell suicide.
Although the study is at an early stage, the scientists believe that the initial results indicate a huge potential in terms of carvacrol’s use as an anti-cancer agent.
“A significant advantage is that oregano is commonly used in food and has a ‘Generally Recognized As Safe’ status in the US. We expect this to translate into a decreased risk of severe toxic effects,” said Dr Bavadekar.
“Some researchers have previously shown that eating pizza may cut down cancer risk. This effect has been mostly attributed to lycopene, a substance found in tomato sauce, but we now feel that even the oregano seasoning may play a role.”
“If the study continues to yield positive results, this super-spice may represent a very promising therapy for patients with prostate cancer,” she added.
Recent data shows that about 1 in 36 men will die of prostate cancer. The disease usually occurs in older men.
It starts in the prostate gland and is conventionally treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and immune therapy.
However, these treatment options are linked with unfortunate complications and severe side effects.
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