A round-up of the week's other health news in brief...
Call for care standards to be implemented
Inclusion Ireland will call for standards in residential institutions for people with an intellectual disability to be implemented when it appears before the Oireachtas Health Committee today.
The umbrellla group for people with intellectual disabilities says residential institutions for people with disabilities are not inspected and no national care standards apply.
It says children without a disability who are in care have their homes independently inspected against national standards under the Children's Acts. Children with an intellectual disability have no such protection, it says.
The Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) has produced standards for residential settings for people with an intellectual disability, due for implementation early next year. However, Inclusion Ireland said it was "extremely worried that in light of delays in the implementation of standards for nursing homes for older people because of budgetary reasons, standards for services for people with an intellectual disability will now also be put on hold".
Harney removes 'derogation' rule
Minister for Health Mary Harney has removed the derogation which prevented non-Irish qualified pharmacists from owning, operating or managing pharmacies which are less than three years old.
The removal of the "derogation" was made possible through newly enacted provisions of the Pharmacy Act 2007 relating to the registration of pharmacists and retail pharmacy businesses. It replaces a previous Act.