Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland’s Nurses to vote on industrial action in A&E units

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says hospital staff are ‘beyond breaking point’

  

A patient on a trolley in a hospital corridor.

Nurses will be balloted next month on industrial action in hospital emergency departments across the State, unless independent safety reviews of each unit are carried out.

The number of patients waiting on trolleys or in wards for admission to hospital broke through the 400 barrier this morning.

A total of 434 patients were waiting on trolleys or in wards, including 48 patients in Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda and 41 patients in University Hospital Limerick.

The union says it wants the immediate introduction of recruitment and retention initiatives to address unsafe staffing levels.

It is also seeking greater support for staff, including an immediate health and safety review of A&E units by an independent expert, to report within four weeks, and a review of hospital escalation policies.

The union also wants clinical decision-makers to be more present, throughout an extended work day and seven days a week, to ensure patients are assessed.

Progress is also being sought in providing nursing staff with increased access to diagnostics on the same extended, 7/7 basis.

The INMO executive council, which met today to decide whether to sanction industrial action over persistent overcrowding in hospital emergency departments, wants discussions to start immediately with the HSE on its demands.

‘Breaking point’

Speaking today, INMO general secretary Liam Doran said ED nurses were “beyond breaking point” and feared constantly for their patients and their own health and well-being.

“The four critical areas identified must now be the subject of immediate, positive and constructive engagement, which will address the critical issues of staffing, enhanced supports, senior clinical decision-making and access to diagnostics.”

Mr Doran said industrial action should be used only as a last resort: “However, after 12 years of waiting for improvements, and unfulfilled promises, the time for action is now.”

Smoking in Ireland is among dementia high risk factors

    

Smoking, heart disease, and high blood pressure contribute to dementia but most people still regard the condition as a normal part of aging, a study shows.

Women are more informed than men, and better-educated people have higher levels of knowledge, according to research conducted at Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital’s Dementia Services Centre.

In a review of 40 studies from 15 different countries including the North, published over the last 20 years, researchers at Trinity’s School of Social Work and Social Policy found the general public have a limited understanding of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

There was also an absence of awareness of the role that modifiable risk factors played in the development of the disease, pointing to the need for governments to incorporate risk reduction programmes on dementia into all aspects of public health campaigns.

Dementia is a costly illness and a leading cause of disability and dependence worldwide, said Suzanne Cahill, director of the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre, and Associate Professor of Social Work and Aging at the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity, who led the research team.

Most of these costs are incurred by family members who generally provide the main bulk of care services free of charge. The worldwide cost of dementia for 2015 has recently been estimated to be €818bn.

“Lack of public understanding of dementia has negative consequences for both the individual coping with the symptoms and for family caregivers,” said Prof Cahill.

“The individual may experience stigma, embarrassment and ridicule due to negative societal attitudes and retreat from activities once enjoyed and the caregiver may experience social isolation since neighbours, friends and family gradually withdraw, not knowing how to behave.”

The research, published in the journal Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Disorders, also found that knowledge of dementia was particularly poor among racial and ethnic minority groups.

In almost half of the studies reviewed, poor to very limited levels of knowledge of dementia were reported.

In a 2012 Irish study, where random sampling was used, 42% of those aged 65 and above, compared with 28% of middle-aged and younger people, believed that dementia was normal in older people.

Another common misconception identified by the research team was that individuals have no control over whether or not they develop dementia. Knowledge about modifiable risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, and high cholesterol was poor.

In one UK study in 2012, only about a quarter of respondents were aware that hypertension and high cholesterol increase an individual’s risk of developing dementia and in another French study just over one third identified smoking as a risk factor.

“Increasingly, the research evidence is pointing to the role cardiovascular risk factors play in contributing to dementia,” said Prof Cahill. “It demonstrates that brain health and cognitive functioning in later life are deeply embedded in physical and mental health in early life and governments need to incorporate risk reduction programmes on dementia into all aspects of public health policies.”

NORTHERN DEATHS?

The number of younger people with Alzheimer’s disease who die in the North and Britain rises by more than half in winter but by less than 10% in the Republic, according to the HSE.

The extraordinary disparity between the north and south of Ireland has emerged from a new UK study which shows that 40% more people with Alzheimer’s Disease or Related Dementia (ADRD) die in winter there than at other times of year, with the figure rising to 56% among ADRD patients aged under 75.

Although excess winter deaths from ADRD were evident in the Republic, the rates were dramatically lower at 27% in the over 75 year olds and even lower at 9% among those under 75.

Anne O’Farrell of the HSE’s Health and Wellbeing Directorate told the Energy Action conference on fuel poverty in Dublin yesterday that further research into the reasons for the much lower incidence of excess winter deaths from dementia in the Republic of Ireland is necessary.

While figures for the Republic are lower than the North, they are still twice those of Norway where homes are better insulated.

Irish Government literally cannot give away €100 subsidy for water charges

    

The low take-up of the water-conservation grant is an indication that opposition to water charges is so strong the Government “literally cannot give away €100”, according to an opposition party.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance made the claim after it emerged that fewer than 600,000 households have applied for the €100 grant ahead of the deadline at midnight on Thursday.

The Department of Social Protection sent about 1.3m letters to households with instructions on how those who have registered with Irish Water can receive the grant. Fewer than 600,000 households had applied as of yesterday.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance said the figures point to a sustained opposition to water charges.

“This is another PR stunt from Irish Water and the Government that was an attempt to bribe people into acceptance of Irish Water that has backfired on them,” said Dublin City councillor Michael O’Brien.

“You have a situation where Irish Water is now so hated, and opposition to the water charges is so strong, that they literally cannot give away €100.

“The numbers who have applied for the grant roughly mirror the number of people who paid the first bill; however, when you factor in that this figure excludes over 400,000 houses who haven’t registered with Irish Water and includes people who are not eligible to pay water charges the figures read even worse for Irish Water.

“So despite there being no onus on people to pay the bill to claim the grant, the majority of people are refusing to even engage with Irish Water to claim a free €100 because they see it as a bribe.”

Cork City councillor Mick Barry said that the figures for Irish Water’s second billing are due to be released soon.

“Whether the numbers for the second bill show the boycott going up or down, it will be bad news for the Government and for Irish Water as they will show that there is still a strong and numerous boycott of the water charge,” he said.

“Irish Water must release the figures this week. They must not be allowed to hold back the figures till next week in an attempt to bury the bad news during budget week.”

Meanwhile, Irish Water has claimed the installation of water meters has saved an estimated 18m litres of water every day through the identification of previously undetected leaks at households.

The utility said that under its ‘first fix free’ scheme, it has repaired almost 1,300 leaks, saving over 11m litres of water every day, while a further 2,200 households that Irish Water has alerted have undertaken their own repairs, saving a further 7m litres every day.

“Repairing leaks on household water pipes whether inside or outside the house will save water and save money, in both the short and long term, and will help to secure a sustainable water supply to Irish Water customers,” said Jerry Grant, head of assets at Irish Water, adding that “repairing a leak can help to prevent reduced water pressure or supply interruptions in customers’ homes”.

Should our supermarkets be legally forced to sell more Irish food?

  

THAT’S WHAT ROMANIA IS HOPING FOR.

Supermarkets sell products from all over the world. But how much of it is Irish, and do we care anyway?

AP reports today that Romanian senators have adopted draft legislation that would oblige supermarkets to sell more meat and produce from the country.

They want 51% of meat, fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets to be produced or grown in Romania.

Here in Ireland, supermarkets aren’t legally obliged to sell a percentage of Irish food, though some go to lengths to ensure customers know they can buy Irish products there.

What do you think: Should our supermarkets be legally forced to sell more Irish food?
Poll Results.

End of the world on Wednesday, says a religious group

  

Do you have any plans for Wednesday, Oct. 7?

You better cancel them. That’s because the eBible Fellowship website, based in Sharon Hill, Penn., is predicting the world will be annihilated on Wednesday.

“According to what the Bible is presenting it does appear that 7 October will be the day that God has spoken of: in which, the world will pass away,” church founder Chris McCann told the Guardian.

“It’ll be gone forever. Annihilated,” he said.

McCann claims to have studied the Bible and extrapolated from a previous claim that the world was ending on May 21, 2011, that the correct date is actually October 7.

It’s based partly on the blood moon – a lunar eclipse combined with a super moon – which occurred on Sept. 27.

“God destroyed the first Earth with water, by a flood, in the days of Noah. And he says he’ll not do that again, not by water. But he does say in 2nd Peter 3 that he’ll destroy it by fire,” McCann said.

Don’t worry, there’s still some wiggle room for redemption — or a day after tomorrow.

“There’s a strong likelihood that this will happen,” McCann said. “Which means there’s an unlikely possibility that it will not.”

A look inside Ireland’s historical newspapers

The Sligo Champion first published 1836.

     

Findmypast is working in partnership with IrishCentral to share fascinating insights into your Irish ancestors. 

The Champion and Sligo News or The Sligo Champion, as it became, was first published in 1836, and is still published today. The paper offers a fascinating insight into life in the north-west of Ireland in the nineteenth century.

A typical nineteenth century weekly paper, The Sligo Champion was initially published on Saturdays at a price of 7 pence. By the 1850s the paper had expanded to eight pages and the price had dropped to 6d. At twice the size of most other newspapers of the day it offered relative value for money (6d was half a day’s wage for a farm laborer).

A typical edition carried an array of news stories from around the world as well as extensive local news. The paper offered entertainment alongside serious news including poetry, serialized novels and even jokes. In a time of low literacy (in rural areas up to half the population could not read or write) the newspaper would be passed around many houses and read aloud for those who could not read it for themselves.

The first edition was published on June 4th, 1836 and, as might be expected from a paper printed a hundred and seventy-seven years ago, it shows some signs of wear and tear. Digitization is helping to preserve these fragile objects and is bringing them to a global audience. These stories from the first edition give a real flavor of life a decade before The Great Famine.

Not unsurprizingly as a newly established publication the first edition of The Sligo Champion is a little light on advertisements and ordinary news but passionate in its politics. Parliamentary debates are published, the first edition of the paper features O’Connell calling for a reform of the House of Lords.

The layout of early newspapers can seem a little odd to the modern reader. The text is small and cramped and not separated with ‘headlines’ or even spaces between stories. A snippet about unusual vegetables can suddenly turn into a tip about preventing creaking shoes which in turn leads into an announcement about a judicial appointment, which is then followed by a report on a ‘hostile meeting’ (which turns out to be a duel, one of those involved is ‘shot very slightly’ and the other ‘severely but not dangerously’!) and finally a story of the court-martial of a soldier. It can leave the reader a bit breathless!

1836 was the year the national police force was inaugurated in Ireland. Previously policing was organized at a local or regional level and their structures and uniforms (where they existed) had a military overtone. The numbers of police, about 7,500, for a population of approximately eight million was roughly half of what it is today (about 14,000) for a population of about five million, not counting the horses!

The newspaper has stories from all over the country and includes one about a gala fete held at Dublin Zoo which had opened just five years previously. Admission to the Zoo was 6d. Four years after this article appeared (in 1840) that the Zoo made the ground-breaking decision to charge 1d on Sundays allowing many more people to enjoy the sights and sounds of the exotic animals it housed, animals that the people would have never have seen before, not even in ‘picture books’.

Among the notices one that catches your attention is a public declaration of the insolvency of one Edward Casey. With the loss of records relating to insolvents & debtors in the explosion at the Four Courts in 1922 notices such as this one are invaluable for piecing together parts of our ancestors’ lives that would otherwise be forgotten.

Newspapers offer up amazing genealogical gems and incredible insights into life in nineteenth century Ireland so explore them today and see what you can discover.

Water flow on rivers affected by volcanic eruptions,

A study now suggests.

    

Major volcanic eruptions do not only affect the air’s environment, it also influences the flow of some of the biggest rivers in the world, a study shows. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh analyzed 50 major rivers and volcanic eruptions from Krakatoa in 1883 to Pinatubo in 1991.

Scientists expect to predict the levels of water that affect directly on the rainfall on future major eruptions. They discovered that the flows of these rivers decreased after a one or two year period following the volcano’s eruption, a process that may be explained due to the amounts of debris the volcano expels, creating a partial sunscreen. This could cause shortage on rainfall, less sunlight means less evaporation, messing with the water cycle.

According to the study, two of the world’s largest rivers like the Nile and the Amazon showed an important reducement of about 10 percent, due to major volcanic eruptions. Credit: 7 Themes

“It was known that volcanic eruptions affect global rainfall, but it was previously unclear to what extent this translated into changes in river flow,” said Dr Carley Iles, co-author of the study, according to ABC News.

Although the study does not specify data on the water volume, two of the world’s largest rivers like the Nile and the Amazon showed an important reducement of about 10 percent. This could mean serious impact on agriculture and the life of people that live near those rivers, Iles suggested. These types of results were found generally in tropical regions, including northern Asia and the Congo.

“Our findings reveal the indirect effect that volcanoes can have on rivers, and could be very valuable in the event of a major volcanic eruption in future,” Isle adds. The paper was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Researchers wanted to warn about the side effects that could bring geoengineering as a solution to this issue. Volcanoes are a natural way of cooling the planet and using this type of technology to replicate its effects on large scales could have terrible consequences, scientists conclude.