News Ireland Sunday's update as told by Donie

Sorry” ‘We are going to have to send you to the zoo,’ doctors tell obese patients they are too large to fit in hospital scanners

   

Hospitals in England have resorted to desperate measures in order to treat obese patients – they’re requesting the use of oversized CT scanners used in zoos and veterinary practises.

Doctors have reached breaking point in their attempt to treat a population that seems to be growing bigger and bigger and have been forced to reach out to vets and zoos for help.

The Royal Veterinary College says that oversized CT scanners of the like used to treat horses could be used to treat people tipping the scales at 30 stone or more, but that they would need a special license to treat human beings.

Referring morbidly obese patients to vets and zoos is reportedly common practise in the US and Riaz Dharamshi, a geriatric registrar at St Mary’s Hospital in West London, said that during his training, he was told to refer obese patients to London Zoo.

“‘I’m sorry sir but you are too fat to have a CT scan, so we are going to have to send you to the zoo where they are used to dealing with larger specimens.’” “Imagine the humiliation for the patient,

Representatives from St. Mary’s Hospital and from London Zoo have denied ever being involved in such a process, although a spokesperson for the Royal Veterinary College admitted that the prospect had been raised with them numerous times in the past.

“We have been approached on several occasions but have always said we are only licensed to perform scans on animals,

According to a recent report, the NHS in England is ill-equipped to deal with the demands of obese patients, with larger wheelchairs, beds and trolleys all needed to cope with an obesity problem that is getting worse year after year.

The government has also had to fork out millions on emergency aid for obese people who have become stuck in their homes, or who cannot be safely lifted by medical staff.

It’s obvious the problem is one that needs to be addressed and if having to avail of a machine that is normally used for horses isn’t enough to convince people to cut down, then nothing is.

Archaeologists find remains of up to a dozen people in Galway 

That could be victims of the Great Irish Famine

       

THE remains of up to a dozen people, possible victims of the Great Famine in the 19th Century, have been discovered in a grave in north Galway.

The skeletal remains were uncovered by contractors working on the Tuam Public Water project and archaeologists were immediately called in. The neatly arranged skeletons were discovered close to where an old workhouse stood, on the Athenry Road on the outskirts of Tuam town.

And while a Victorian graveyard is located almost directly across the road, the initial indications are that the remains are more probably linked to the workhouse.

Built to accommodate the starving local population in the late 1840s, the workhouse was demolished in or around 1970 to make way for a local housing estate.

The skeletons were found by workmen in a contained area, and all appeared to have been buried in coffins, rather than just left at random in the ground. Mysteriously, all were discovered facing in a north-south direction.

“Most Christian burials saw the bodies laid in an east-west direction, so we are not sure why they are lying like this,” said Galway County Council archaeologist Finn Delaney.

The team of archaeologists has only just starting the work of excavating the remains and is anxious to preserve the site and retain the dignity of the dead from over-eager sightseers.

Enda Kenny say’s we would like to see the banks taxed

  

THE TAOISEACH HAS said that although he wants to see banks subject to new taxes, he will not accept any financial taxes in Dublin that are not charged in London.

At a news conference following the Irish-British Council summit yesterday Kenny said that there cannot be different situations in London and Dublin.

“You cannot have a situation where a financial transaction tax resulted in a difference between what happens in London and what happens here in Dublin. We have made it very clear that it would not be acceptable to us.”

Kenny added that such a tax would only be welcomed if it was agreed and implemented on a global level.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg echoed Kenny’s opinion. He said that his government were adamant that “this type of tax had to be done in a global way”.

“To do it partially – just in Europe or the EU – would not lead to growth and dynamism but job losses. For that reason, we do not support it,” he reiterated.

Clegg also pointed to the European Commission’s own research which he claimed showed that up to half a million jobs could be lost as a result of any transaction tax.

When in an economically precarious position, I don’t think the priority should be a measure which even its proponents admit would lead to significant levels of unemployment.”

The Taoiseach said the leaders had a “useful exchange” on the economic challenges facing the various jurisdictions of the council. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness also attended the meetings.

Pat Rabbitt launches a new Emergency text service 

For the deaf and hard of hearing

       

Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte launches the new text service in Dublin

A pilot emergency text service for the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired was launched by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte today.

Aimed at those seeking emergency help who are unable or have difficulty in communicating verbally, the service will refer text messages to the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) where they will be passed on to An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance service, the Fire service, or the Irish Coastguard.

Speaking at the launch at the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Agriculture House, Mr Rabbitte said the service, which will run until the end of June and will be operated by BT Ireland, meant the country was “taking a step closer towards parity of access for all to the emergency services.”

Mr Rabbitte said he looked forward to working with the representatives of those with disabilities “to improve the service and in the consideration of other technologies that will serve us even better.”

Department of Communications project manager of the service Aidan Ryan said those wanting to use the service must first register by sending a text message with the word “register” to 112. A confirmatory text will then invite them to visit the website www.112.ie where they must first provide location information before the service takes effect.

Those sending an emergency text message to the 112 number are asked to specify which emergency service they need, what the problem is, what county they are in and what their exact location is.

Mr Ryan said while it was free to send a text message to the 112 number, it may require the sender’s phone to have credit, depending on their phone provider.

Available to Vodafone, O2, Meteor, 3 and eMobile customers, Mr Ryan advised that those who change their mobile phone number after registering must re-register for emergency text service.

He also encouraged users of the service to store a draft message on their phone, detailing their home address to save time in the event of an emergency.

Eddie Redmond of the Irish Deaf Society said the service was a positive step for the Irish deaf community and those hard of hearing.

“Finally there is access for deaf people, we are on an equal par and we can use the emergency services as hearing people. Up to this point, deaf people didn’t have access.”

Mr Redmond however said he was concerned that the service was currently just a six month pilot.

“I wouldn’t agree with that. It should be a permanent service the same as hearing people have a 999 service all of the time. It’s a matter of life and death, the same as for hearing people.

“How do you contact the services, personally or for someone else? The pilot must continue.”

Mr Ryan said while the six-month pilot would be used to assess the usability of the service, he said he “would be surprised if we would withdraw the service.”