HSE

‘We’ve just been given excuses for 13 years – why will nobody help my Katie get treatment in Ireland?’ asks mother

A teenage girl who was the beneficiary of a fundraising campaign for surgery in the United States is now suffering again due to the lack of health services in Ireland, her mother has said.

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Suzanne Crowe Opinion Public deserves to know extent of malaise in the Irish healthcare system – and the cure

On holidays this week, I bumped into a retired nurse. As we chatted , she told me how sad she felt about losing her two children to Australia. One a doctor, the other a physio, they have made their lives in Perth.

Pregnant women and 60-64 age cohort can book second Covid-19 booster shot from today

Pregnant women and everyone aged between 60 and 64 will be invited to book their second Covid vaccine booster shot from today, the HSE has announced.

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‘It’s sad there’s still a need for it after all this time’ – Brother Kevin to retire from Capuchin Day Centre he founded 53 years ago

At 87 years of age, Br Kevin Crowley is set to retire from the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin that has helped generations of homeless people and families afflicted by growing poverty and drug addiction.

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Unquestioned, unproven, unsafe: HSE must learn from Britain’s Tavistock gender clinic debacle, says expert

In 2009, the HSE began referring Irish children seeking treatment for gender issues to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) run by the Tavistock NHS clinic in London. The numbers were small, but growing.

Steep drop in assessments of need for children carried out by HSE this year

There has been a dramatic drop in the number of assessments of need (AON) carried out on children this year, after the HSE was caught “cutting corners” by a High Court case.

Monkeypox in Ireland: HSE says supply of vaccines to fight spread of the disease ‘limited and low’

The vaccination of at-risk groups against the monkeypox virus is being hampered by what the HSE has called “limited and low” supplies of the smallpox vaccine.

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exclusive Anne Rabbitte says disabilities is the ‘Cinderella’ within Department of Health – ‘We’re never the first thought’

Anne Rabbitte, the minister of state for disabilities, is anxious to get out of the Department of Health. It’s not that she wants another ministry; rather, she thinks she could do her current job better in another department.

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HSE had concerns over trans group’s social media posts

The relationship between Teni, the transgender support and lobbying group, and the State’s National Gender Service (NGS), which treats people seeking medical interventions on gender, has completely broken down.

HSE needs to recruit thousands of staff as population set to grow substantially, ESRI warns

Thousands more doctors, nurses, midwives and other specialists will be needed in a major recruitment for the health service to tackle waiting lists and care for surging numbers of elderly patients.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Sending Irish patients to Spanish hospitals won’t improve health services here

Sir — John O’Brien (Letters, July 17) is curious about the wrong thing regarding HSE plans to send patients abroad for treatment in a deal with a Spanish private hospital built to provide the services.

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Explainer: How will another Covid booster shot work as we face a triple threat this winter?

It is expected to be the winter of a triple hit – Covid-19, flu and other respiratory viruses. Another Covid-19 booster shot is due in the autumn, but it remains to be assessed when the roll-out will happen and who will be eligible. So just what issues are experts examining before making decisions?

Fresh Covid variant on way as nation prepares for ‘winter virus storm’

The new Omicron variant, nicknamed Centaurus, which it is feared could fuel the next Covid surge, has been found in 15 countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

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Special investigation: Parents of children with autism vulnerable to exploitation by unregulated psychologists as waiting lists can take four years

Children are waiting up to four years for an autism assessment, with thousands more across the country losing valuable time going without life-changing interventions.

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Tess Finch-Lees Opinion Ireland’s Covid war is far from over – but it feels like the generals have already capitulated

‘It’s like a war zone. Casualties everywhere, wailing in agony.” Having languished on a trolley in a Covid-ridden hospital corridor for six days, immunocompromised from cancer treatment, 81-year-old Frank insisted on leaving. He would rather die at home in peace than on a hospital trolley.

‘That's the system, and it’s not fit for purpose’: TDs and senators made 7,300 submissions to the HSE last year

TDs and senators made 7,300 representations to the HSE last year, with the vast majority relating to the healthcare of individual constituents.

Younger people’s immunity to Covid wanes since January as post-vaccine defences drop – but protection against severe disease remains

Evidence of waning defences against Covid-19 in people who were vaccinated has emerged for the first time in blood tests in Ireland with antibodies peaking in late January and declining since then.

Executive arranging HSE-funded care for patients in Spain is ‘assisting gardai’ on fraud probe

The company secretary of a firm involved in arranging treatment for Irish patients in a Spanish hospital confirmed he is “assisting gardaí” in relation to alleged fraud.

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Navan hospital clinical director Gerry McEntee accuses Stephen Donnelly of ‘gagging’ order

Navan Hospital’s clinical director has accused Stephen Donnelly of being “economical with the truth” after the health minister denied gagging him over plans to close the emergency department.

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HSE complaint lodged after anti-lockdown barrister refused to wear a face covering at mental health tribunal hearings

Anti-lockdown activist and barrister Una McGurk refused to wear a mask during two attendances at mental health tribunals within a psychiatric unit in Cork, prompting a complaint to the HSE.

Row between cystic fibrosis drug maker Vertex and HSE over cost leaves children in limbo

Drug company Vertex is demanding millions more euro from the HSE to distribute a life-changing drug to 35 children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who are excluded from a deal struck five years ago.

Covid threat rises in many popular European holiday hotspots favoured by Irish

Irish holidaymakers heading to popular summer hotspots overseas are facing a storm of rising Covid-19 infections and potential travel chaos.

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Why Covid-19 and shortage of dentists are impacting the price of having your tooth filled

When dentists were forced to display their prices for the first time in 2011, it was seen as a landmark moment for patients.

Top medic’s warning: We must heed serious impact of long-Covid on brain

Long-Covid patients are being prescribed painkillers, nerve blockers and sleeping pills while the impact of the condition on the brain is not getting proper attention, infectious disease consultant Prof Jack Lambert warned yesterday.

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Suzanne Crowe Opinion Healthcare sector has much hurt to undo when it comes to LGBTQ+ community

A recent conference on how we can improve our care for older people in the LGBTQ+ community will leave a positive impression, but we need to keep up the momentum when Pride month is over.

Impact of long Covid on the brain ‘underestimated’ and not included in HSE treatment plan, warns leading doctor

The residual damage to the brain in long Covid patients is underestimated and not recognised in the HSE’s plan to treat the condition, a leading infectious disease consultant warned today

Interim CMO Dr Breda Smyth warns against crowded spaces as Covid-19 now ‘everywhere’

Covid-19 is “everywhere”, and the public should assume that if they go into any crowded space, some other people will be infected with the virus, acting chief medical officer Dr Breda Smyth said yesterday.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Lack of hospital beds a huge failing of political leadership

Your newspaper highlighted the crisis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and the utter indignity for patients, families and staff there (‘Report finds emergency patients at risk of harm in Limerick’, Irish Independent, June 18). Why, after 25 or more years, do we continue to have such crises?

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Politicians are ‘putting patient safety at risk’ by holding up Navan Hospital emergency department closure

Delays in closing Navan Hospital’s emergency department due to political opposition are putting the lives of critically ill patients at risk, the hospital’s clinical director has warned.

Paul Reid raised issue of ‘unwarranted slurs’ against HSE staff with Department of Health

Outgoing HSE chief Paul Reid accused the Department of Health of “unwarranted slurs” on his staff in a row over leaked recordings of department meetings.