FERTILITY CLINIC INSPECTIONS:Inspections carried out by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) on a number of the State's fertility clinics last year uncovered a number of deficiencies, but none related to difficulties with patient care or the level of service provided by them.
Details of the inspections were released to the Irish Medical Newsunder the Freedom of Information Act.
The IMB report said the Clane Assisted Conception Unit, which is currently located in prefabricated buildings attached to the main hospital, had a cramped liquid nitrogen storage area, testing area and sample preparation area.
However, Dr Peter Brinsden, medical director of the unit, said that Clane has recently been given approval for the building of a new unit.
An inspection at the Kilkenny Clinic found pests were evident in lighting fixtures, flaking paint was observed in the laboratory area, the laboratory benches were not readily cleanable, and the air quality was not specified.
In addition, the inspection noted that there was no formal system in place for the recording and management of complaints and there was no system in place to report serious adverse events and reactions to the Irish Medicines Board.
The clinical director of the Kilkenny Clinic, Dr Martine Millett Johnston, said most of the deficiencies have been addressed and corrected "and the remainder are being addressed with planned corrective action for the individual deficiency and target dates are in place for completion of the said corrective action".
MORE BEDS:Some 60 per cent of Irish people want more hospitals and hospital beds, according to the preliminary results of the 2007 Pfizer Health Index.
Some 1,033 adults across the State were surveyed by Behaviour and Attitudes for this report. They were asked for their priorities for improving the healthcare system.
Three out of five people (60 per cent) said they would make the provision of more hospitals and hospital beds their first priority.
The next biggest priorities for those surveyed were providing more access to GPs - 9 per cent would make this their top priority. A further 9 per cent would make providing more medical cards their number one priority.
The 2007 Pfizer Health Index also incorporates the attitudes and perceptions of foreign nationals living in the Republic to the Irish health service and to living in Ireland generally. Some 120 foreign nationals were surveyed for this section of the report and almost nine out of 10 of them (89 per cent) said they were in Ireland to work or to find work - 82 per cent and seven per cent respectively. The full report is due to be published soon.
STROKE IMPACT: New research published yesterday reveals the massive impact of stroke on the quality of life of Irish stroke survivors living in the community.
It found some 58 per cent had trouble cutting food, while 44 per cent needed help dressing. Similarly, 56 per cent could no longer climb a stairs without assistance.
Difficulties were magnified for the 58 per cent of those surveyed, who were readmitted into hospital within months of being discharged following a stroke.
And many are not receiving sufficient post-stroke services which would help them to adjust to their situation. For example, despite the fact that more than half of the participants were found to be suffering from psychological problems following a stroke, with 44 per cent being in the clinical range for depression and 24 per cent living with clinical anxiety, the vast majority never received a psychologist/psychiatrist service following discharge and more than half had never received a social worker visit.
The research was carried out for the Volunteer Stroke Scheme (VSS) by a team at St James's hospital in Dublin.
SEEKING VOLUNTEERS:The Meningitis Research Foundation is looking for people to volunteer their time for a Flag Day collection that is being organised in Tara Street DART Station, Dublin, on Saturday next, August 25th.
The foundation fights death and disability from meningitis and septicaemia and supports people affected by these diseases. If you are interested please call: 01-819 6931 or e-mail: oonagh@meningitis-ireland.org