Hopes grow ‘unprecedented’ flu wave is close to peaking Likely ‘long tail’ to decline will hit health service for months, Irish College of General Practitioners saysThu Jan 12 2023 - 00:01
Patient transfers to ease pressure on University Hospital Limerick to become long-term arrangementSome non-urgent patients at the hospital are currently transferred by ambulance to be treated at Ennis HospitalWed Jan 11 2023 - 21:42
Rise in older mothers cited as factor behind Ireland’s high Caesarean ratesMedics also cite different population profiles, with one obstetrician contrasting ‘fat, old and short’ Irish mothers with ‘healthier’ DutchWed Jan 11 2023 - 14:19
Almost 1,000 patients caught Covid-19 in Irish hospitals last monthVaccines will still offer protection against Kraken subvariant, says professor of experimental immunologyWed Jan 11 2023 - 12:00
Walk-in flu vaccine clinics to be offered to children amid surge in casesHSE says nearly 700 under-14s have been hospitalised with the illness over the winterTue Jan 10 2023 - 22:00
HSE continues to insure ‘obsolete’ items such as carphones and camcorders, auditors findAmong the items listed under ‘all-risk’ cover are car-phones insured for €7,618; two JVC camcorders, insured for €30,000, dating from the 1990s; and a 2001 telephone system insured for €30,000Tue Jan 10 2023 - 19:08
Patients have likely died as a result of ‘avoidable delays’ in Irish health system over recent weeks, IMO saysOvercrowding down on last week’s figures due to higher weekend discharges by staffTue Jan 10 2023 - 17:08
Over 850 hospital bed days lost this year amid renewed pressure on emergency departmentsFirst cases of ‘concerning’ new Covid-19 subvariant detected in IrelandTue Jan 10 2023 - 05:00
Sea swimmers alerted to risk of lung condition from cold waterWomen and older swimmers more likely to suffer from fluid on the lungs, known as pulmonary oedemaMon Jan 9 2023 - 23:30
First cases of ‘concerning’ new Covid-19 subvariant detected in IrelandXBB.1.5 strain became dominant in US in space of a month but there is no evidence it is more lethalMon Jan 9 2023 - 16:50
Hospital overcrowding partially eases after high number of weekend discharges489 patients were on trolleys on Monday morning, with the total expected to rise again on TuesdayMon Jan 9 2023 - 14:38
Just five applications for €100,000 payment for health workers who died of Covid in serviceJust five applications for €100,000 payment for health workers who died of Covid in serviceMon Jan 9 2023 - 05:00
Hospital overcrowding: Hundreds of well patients await discharge while 1,000 care home beds empty Lack of discharge options is a big cause of hospital congestion and the trolley crisisMon Jan 9 2023 - 05:00
Why are hospitals so overcrowded and is there anything that can be done?Trolley numbers could break the 1,000 mark, possibly next week, depending on flu trendsSat Jan 7 2023 - 05:00
Hospital overcrowding: Is adding more beds really the solution?Seven-day working weeks, the return of retired GPs, the use of nursing home beds as well as more rehab and social care could all help alleviate the current trolley crisisFri Jan 6 2023 - 18:00
Flu season may continue until April, adding to pressure on health serviceHSPC is warning of ‘significant’ rise in flu levels over the next monthFri Jan 6 2023 - 06:51
Hospitals told to implement seven-day working with ‘immediate effect’ to ease overcrowdingMove aims at discharge of patients at weekends at same rate as during week with goal of freeing up bedsFri Jan 6 2023 - 06:00
HSE reports average gender pay gap of 12%State’s largest employer says difference is due to more men in roles with higher pay such as medical and dental jobsFri Jan 6 2023 - 03:00
Hospital overcrowding: 1,800 patients waited 24 hours or more on trolleys last weekHealthcare staff have been told to make themselves available for weekend work over the coming weeksThu Jan 5 2023 - 20:18
How many hospital beds does State need to fix the overcrowding crisis? Estimates as to bed quantity needs vary but, at over €1m a year each, their provision will be hugely expensiveWed Jan 4 2023 - 20:00
Hospital overcrowding to get worse amid ‘perfect storm’ of flu, RSV and Covid Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was speaking after a record 931 patients on trolleys was set on TuesdayTue Jan 3 2023 - 22:16
Hospital overcrowding: there are two answers to this perennial Irish problemThe baseline level of trolleys is now about 500, even in summer when there is no flu or Covid-19 to blameTue Jan 3 2023 - 20:00
Dr Cillian de Gascun: ‘Notwithstanding what happened in 2018, this is a positive news story’Paul Cullen talks to the head of the NCSL, Ireland’s new dedicated cervical screening lab, built so that Irish women’s samples no longer need to be sent abroad.Tue Jan 3 2023 - 03:45
Processing of cervical cancer slides restarts in Coombe after break of over a yearNew National Cervical Screening Laboratory plans to process all CervicalCheck slides within five yearsTue Jan 3 2023 - 03:45
Public urged to ‘consider all options’ before going to hospital amid surge in virusesPressure on hospitals is the result of high levels of flu and Covid-19 and increasing cases of respiratory syncytial virusTue Jan 3 2023 - 00:00
University Hospital Limerick declares ‘major internal incident’Hospital is under ‘extreme pressure’ and advises public to use other servicesMon Jan 2 2023 - 21:09
‘We have patients aged 40, 45 or 50 having babies all the time now,’ says outgoing master of Rotunda Hospital‘About 95 per cent of cases of prenatally diagnosed Down syndrome do terminate’Mon Dec 26 2022 - 04:00
Rotunda master says 95% of parents in Down syndrome cases choose abortionHospital ‘does not advocate for termination, that is just the lived experience’, says Prof Fergal MaloneMon Dec 26 2022 - 03:15
‘Where would I get dinner if I didn’t work?’ says midwife after working 20 straight ChristmasesYap Siew Hong from Malaysia has kept in regular touch with about 20 of her patients, starting with a mother whose Rotunda baby is now 21Sat Dec 24 2022 - 00:10
Surge in winter viruses to put health service under ‘highest pressure’ ever, HSE warnsForecasts suggest more than 900 patients with flu could be in Irish hospitals by early January with total rising as month goes onThu Dec 22 2022 - 19:50
Sale of ‘dangerous’ baby self-feeding pillows banned by consumer watchdogCCPC says product presents a risk of death or serious harm due to choking or aspirationThu Dec 22 2022 - 15:40
Top tips for parents this winter from an emergency consultant at Temple Street Dr Paddy Fitzpatrick says flu is now taking over this winter after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reached record levelsTue Dec 20 2022 - 19:00
Q&A: Why are hospital trolley numbers spiralling to record highs? As flu, Covid-19 and RSV hit hospitals, here’s what awaits the health service over the next few weeksMon Dec 19 2022 - 21:08
Hospital overcrowding matches previous record as 760 patients wait on trolleysOnslaught of flu, Covid and RSV is putting emergency departments under extreme pressureMon Dec 19 2022 - 11:48
Masters of maternity hospitals criticise move to end private care of pregnant womenIntroduction of new public-only contract could have ‘serious implications’Mon Dec 19 2022 - 00:56
Flu and Covid-19 combine to put health service under ‘unprecedented’ pressureHSE tells hospitals to restrict New Year outpatient appointmentsSun Dec 18 2022 - 16:41
HSE’s model of care for long Covid patients ‘broadly consistent’ with global guidelinesHiqa says recommendations do not emphasise standard assessment tools or structured patient follow-upFri Dec 16 2022 - 19:00
Tusla chief executive Bernard Gloster appointed as next head of HSEMinister welcomes selection of man with over 30 years experience in health service management roles to succeed Paul ReidFri Dec 16 2022 - 11:43
High costs and widespread inefficiencies of Irish health system highlighted in OECD reportIreland to face some of the largest pressures on public spending up to 2060, report warnsWed Dec 14 2022 - 18:44
Waiting times of up to 90 hours for emergency department beds ‘not uncommon’, Hiqa saysSystem under ‘unprecedented strain’ due to record attendances, ageing population and shortage of GPs, watchdog saysWed Dec 14 2022 - 10:39
Fewer patients with hip fractures admitted to theatre within target time last yearReport finds overall improvement in treatment of hip-fracture patients over the past five yearsWed Dec 14 2022 - 01:00
Navan hospital set to receive 50% fewer ambulances as patients divertedCritically ill or unstable patients to be brought to other local hospitals from WednesdayTue Dec 13 2022 - 15:29
ECDC warns of significant pressure on health systems from surge in respiratory virusesEurope’s disease watchdog says RSV is higher and earlier this year, flu is early and Covid may be having a resurgenceMon Dec 12 2022 - 19:51
Hints of much worse to come as Strep A and RSV hit children and flu cases start to riseCovid-19 lockdowns stopped many other illnesses in their tracks. Now that life has returned to normal, most of the bugs are back with a vengeanceSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
Hospital procedure waiting lists climb above 80,000 for first timeAlmost 14,000 of these patients, including 1,800 children, have been waiting more than 12 monthsFri Dec 9 2022 - 19:58
Two flu deaths reported in past week amid big increase in cases and hospitalisationsRSV cases increase, to 678, from 610 previous week; half of them in under-5s and one-quarter in over-65s with 239 hospitalisedFri Dec 9 2022 - 16:21
Likely rise in Covid cases and hospitalisations as new immune-evasive variant spreads, CMO warnsAnticipated resurgence of coronavirus placing extra strain on health service struggling with record RSV wave and invasive cases of strep AThu Dec 8 2022 - 16:43
Women with breast cancer can safely pause treatment to have a baby, study findsSix babies were born to 14 Irish women participating in international trial after endocrine treatment was stoppedThu Dec 8 2022 - 14:59
‘Inconsistent’ smear reporting flagged a decade before CervicalCheck controversyPractice nurse wrote to minister in 2009 warning of ‘serious consequences’ to Irish women over US laboratory’s reportsMon Dec 5 2022 - 17:35
Flu cases rise and ‘significant’ wave could be coming, CMO warnsInfections are starting to take off all over Europe with RSV and Covid-19 also circulatingMon Dec 5 2022 - 15:23