SOUTHEAST STROKE UNIT: A new acute stroke unit which will offer emergency medical treatment, management and early rehabilitation to stroke victims from the Carlow-Kilkenny area will be fully operational by early next year, the HSE said yesterday.
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disturbed, depriving the brain of oxygen and causing some cells to die, while damaging other cells. Stroke is said to kill more than 5,000 people here every year and many of the 30,000 who survive are left with a significant disability.
In an acute stroke unit victims are seen by a multidisciplinary team including dedicated stroke physicians, specialist nurses, speech therapists and occupational therapists.
The co-ordinated care approach of acute stroke units is seen as the biggest advance in stroke care in the past century and can save lives and decrease disability rates by up to 25 per cent, according to Richard Dooley, hospital network manager of the HSE's South Eastern Hospitals Group.
RHEUMATOLOGY BURSARY: Judging for the Dr Bernard Connor Bursary in Rheumatology will begin at the end of this month. The bursary, worth €10,000, will be awarded for the best innovation and groundbreaking work in Irish rheumatology in either clinical or educational practice today.
The bursary is named after an Irish physician, Dr Bernard Connor, who was the first doctor to publish a clinical description of Ankylosing Spondylitis, a debilitating rheumatoid disease, in 1693. Connor went to France at age 20 in 1686 to study medicine. He then became personal physician to King John 111 of Poland.
Dr Eithne Murphy, consultant rheumatologist, Connolly Hospital, said recognition of Connor was long overdue. "We hope that this new bursary not only continues his pioneering legacy and remarkable achievements, but will help increase awareness of the condition he first described among the medical community in Ireland," she said. The bursary is backed by pharmaceutical group Abbott.
PSYCHOTHERAPY CONGRESS: The Association for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy in Ireland and the school of Psychotherapy, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, are holding their 13th annual congress this Friday and Saturday.
The event is being held in St Vincent's Hospital and speakers will address topics such as You're not going out like that are you?, The case of Mr Frozen and The fixation of Belief. For further details see: www.appi.ie.
CERVICAL CANCER SUPPORT: Jo's Trust, an international charity dedicated to fighting cervical cancer, is organising a Let's Meet day in Dublin on Thursday, November 30th. It is inviting women of all ages who have experienced cervical cancer or pre-cancer to meet each other and share their experiences as well as discuss their health concerns with healthcare professionals.
Jo's Trust is based in Britain but is run by an Irish director, Pamela Morton. The event is being held in Newman House, Stephen's Green and runs from 11am to 3.30pm.
Places are limited. To register visit www.jotrust.co.uk.
Alternatively, contact Ms Morton on tel: 0044 1327 341965 or e-mail pamela@jotrust.co.uk
FRUIT AND VEG ON A WINNER: An Irish project to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables, which the European Commission helped finance with €600,000, has won a major international award.
The Irish Food Dude campaign has won a World Health Organisation Counteracting Obesity Award 2006. It was also supported by the Department of Agriculture, Bord Bia, and the fruit and vegetable industry body, Fresh Produce Ireland.
The Food Dude project encourages children to eat more fruit and vegetables in school and at home, based on positive role models through the Food Dude characters, repeated tastings and rewards.
The idea was developed by Irishman Prof Fergus Lowe and his team at the University of Wales in Bangor. Real Event Solutions, based in Cork, implemented the programme and some 45 Irish schools are currently participating.
KILKENNY APPOINTMENT: Ann Marie Garbutt has been appointed director of clinical services (nursing) at Aut Even Hospital, Kilkenny.
A native of Piltown, Co Kilkenny, Ms Garbutt trained at the North Middlesex Hospital, a 600-bed acute university teaching hospital in North London. Post-qualification she studied, while working, for a BSc in nursing and is currently studying for an MA in nursing studies. She was recently head of nursing at the North Middlesex University Hospital before joining Aut Even in May 2006.
Ms Garbutt has received numerous awards for her work in the areas of clinical excellence, improving staff morale and the patient experience, according to Aut Even.