From unread X-rays to unqualified anaesthetists, writes MUIRIS HOUSTON
THE YEAR started off with an element of swine flu fatigue, as the pandemic never reached the severity predicted by public health experts. The World Health Organisation (WHO) even faced allegations that it had created a “fake” swine flu pandemic to bring economic benefit to the pharmaceutical industry. While such accusations were clearly over the top, the EU did launch an investigation into close ties between WHO advisers and certain vaccine manufacturers. But the pandemic is now officially over, with the H1N1 virus this winter’s regular, seasonal flu.
January saw some unexpected good news on the cancer front. The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, announced the launch of a national colorectal (bowel) cancer screening programme in 2012. Initially targeted at those aged 60-69, the scheme’s ultimate aim is to screen everyone from the age of 55 to 74 for what is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the Republic. It will be one of the first screening programmes to use special kits that test for the presence of blood in faeces, the reliability of which were proven by a team from Tallaght hospital under the leadership of Prof Colm O’Morain.
And there was more good news when the Minister reversed an earlier decision not to go ahead with a free cervical cancer vaccine programme for girls. Sure enough, by September, the programme was ramping up in secondary schools around the country. In a sign of the times, Harney announced the cost of the scheme had gone from €16 million to €3 million, following negotiations with manufacturers.
One of the biggest health stories of 2010 was that involving unread X-rays and unopened referral letters at Tallaght hospital. Breaking in the spring, it was the subject of an in-depth investigation and autumn report by Dr Maurice Hayes. The Hayes investigation concluded that a shortage of consultant radiologists and management weaknesses at the hospital, were the main reasons some 58,000 X-rays were left unreported between 2006 and 2009.
An overload problem had been flagged to management at the hospital as early as 2003; consultants expressed their concerns about the matter on at least 30 occasions. But it wasn’t until a local GP brought his concerns to the attention of the Health Information and Quality Authority that the magnitude of the problem became clear.
On the separate matter of the inadequate processing of letters from GPs referring patients to Tallaght, the Hayes report introduced a novel term. Because the hospital’s electronic diary system could not offer outpatient appointments beyond a 12-month time frame, an ad hoc process, labelled by Hayes as “queuing to queue”, developed. And, because of a failure to record waiting times from when a patient is referred by their GP until they are seen by a consultant, a true measure of waiting times still eludes us.
Another long-running saga is that of thalidomide survivors. In April, Harney was criticised for presenting a “take it or leave it” compensation package. Come December, she threatened survivors that the money would be returned to general Exchequer funds if not accepted. Unsurprisingly, the 32 victims are now heading for the courts.
October brought a revelation that some junior doctors working as anaesthetists at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda required “extremely close supervision and support” in order to perform the full range of duties expected of them. Two have minimal experience with epidural anaesthesia, while one individual could not participate in the hospital’s on-call rota because of poor English. It emerged the hospital had been trying to offer a service with just over a third of the junior anaesthetic staff required.
The research breakthrough of the year was undoubtedly the discovery of the cancer-busting capabilities of aspirin. A daily dose of the humble anti-inflammatory drug promises a significant reduction in deaths from a wide range of cancers, researchers from Oxford announced earlier this month.