School partnership: NUI Galway and the University of Limerick have announced the opening of a joint medical academy at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
The NUI Galway-University of Limerick Medical Academy brings the two medical schools together. They will share the academy premises and academic staff.
From this month, 22 medical students from both institutions will complete a year of their training at Portiuncula Hospital.
Prostate treatment:A national prostate-cancer brachytherapy service was launched at University Hospital Galway yesterday. Brachytherapy is a technique used to treat prostate cancer by placing radioactive seeds inside the prostate gland, where they remain to irradiate the malignant tissue. The option means prostate cancer patients have to make only one visit to a cancer centre in place of seven or eight weeks of daily radiotherapy sessions, or surgery.
Dentist of the year:A dentist who treated a special-needs patient and saved him from a potentially traumatic hospital procedure has been named dentist of the year. Gillian Smith (27) from Bray treated Neal Dhondt (28) for four months. Dhondt, who has autism, suffered from periodontal disease. His mother feared a hospital stay would traumatise him, saying: "Treating a patient with severe autism who refuses to sit still is a challenge. I admire her professionalism and patience".