IRISH NEWS

news

The latest in nationwide health, medical and emergency services news.

INJECTION CENTRE GO-AHEAD

Planning permission was finally granted for Ireland’s first medically supervised injecting centre in December. Plans to build the facility at Merchants Quay Ireland’s Riverbank Centre on the city’s south quays have been in the works for over three years, but in July of last year Dublin City Council refused the initial application following fierce resistance from local businesses and residents. Some 99 objections were lodged against the plan. However, on appeal, An Bord Pleanála approved the application at the end of 2019. The facility will consist of seven injecting rooms where drug users can go to inject drugs under the supervision of a medical professional. Welcoming the decision, Merchants Quay Ireland said the 18-month pilot scheme will allow them to reach people who are currently isolated and vulnerable, offering them vital healthcare and treatment options. “With one death every day in Ireland from a drug overdose, this facility will save lives,” a spokesperson said. Over 120 such facilities exist in countries across the world, including Australia and Canada. The 2016 Programme for Government contains a commitment to open facilities such as this, and laws were passed in 2017 allowing for such centres to open and be run legally.

TB BREAKTHROUGH

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have made a breakthrough that could lead to improved treatment options for tuberculosis in the future. The team have discovered how TB affects the immune system and how to restart the immunity process. Dr Frederick Sheedy said of the study detailed in the Cell Reports journal: “We found that when TB-infected cells are treated with a key ‘interferon gamma protein signal', which is normally produced following vaccination, they will remove this microRNA to effectively relieve the brake and restore our normal immune response". He insisted that this could have major implications for the future treatment of TB, adding: “Scientists should be able to develop improved immunotherapies or vaccine strategies to help in the fight against TB infection."

HOSPITAL BEDS NEEDED

Thousands of new hospital beds are needed during the first two years of the next Government, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). Dr Padraig McGarry, president of the IMO, said: “We are facing a health system crisis that needs real solutions for the sake of our patients.” One major problem is overcrowding, which the IMO said is due to the removal of hundreds of hospital beds from the system a decade ago. This has left Ireland's rapidly ageing population with the fourth-lowest hospital bed per capita ratio in Europe.

The IMO insisted that until there is an adequate amount of beds in the system, the number of patients on trolleys will continue to grow. As a solution, it is calling for "an accelerated programme of investment in acute hospital capacity of at least 5,000 beds to meet patient demand and to ensure doctors can treat patients in a timely manner". It said that 2,000 of these beds should be made available within the next two years. However, this will require "significant upfront investment and recruitment of doctors and other healthcare staff".

MENTAL HEALTH HOTLINE

A new 24-hour mental health phone line was launched in late-2019 to assist people in accessing supports and services. Callers to the 'Your Mental Health' information number will be connected to the most appropriate service provider for their needs, nationally or locally, by trained National Ambulance Service (NAS) personnel. The freephone service can be contacted on 1800 111 888. Speaking at the launch of the phone line at the National Emergency Operations Centre of the NAS in November, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there are extensive mental health services in Ireland but "it is often the case that they are not well joined up, they either overlap or there are gaps between them". He added: “The new dedicated phone line will allow people to access the mental health service they need, when they need it and where they need it." Along with the phone line, there are also plans to roll out online counselling initiatives and a national crisis text line in 2020.

HIV STIGMA CAMPAIGN

The HSE has launched a new campaign aimed at tackling HIVrelated stigma. Campaign posters with the tagline: “Effective treatment means you can’t pass HIV onto partners,” will appear in public transport, social venues and college locations across the country, as well as on digital platforms. The campaign also references the global U=U campaign (undetectable equals untransmittable). The campaign was developed by the HSE in consultation with community groups and sexual health NGO organisations. Funding for the campaign was provided by the Department of Health as part of the HIV Fast Track Cities Initiative. Maeve O’Brien, Interim Lead for Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy, said: “There is still a lack of understanding around HIV and what it means to live with HIV today, and it’s important to address this. This public awareness campaign will improve people’s understanding of HIV and highlight the importance of early testing and treatment.”

LIFE EXPECTANCY RISES

Irish people are living for longer, with much of the increase in life expectancy due to big reductions in major causes of death such as cancer, the Department of Health announced in December. A new report, Health in Ireland – Key Trends 2019, shows that Irish people are adding an average of three months per year to life expectancy over the past decade. Irish women now have a life expectancy of 84, up from 82 in 2007 and 78 in 1997. Men’s life expectancy is now 80, compared to 77 in 2007 and 73 in 1997.

DEFENCE FORCES EXODUS

Defence Forces officers have paid substantial amounts of money to buy their way out of their military careers early rather than continue to serve the time they initially agreed. Some 24 officers across the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service who were sent to university as part of their training opted to pay their way out early over the last five years. Many of them gained specialist skills in university, such as computer forensics, cyber security and combatting cybercrime. One officer is said to have paid €67,000 to leave his post early, while others have paid sums of €39,234, €33,427, €32,248 and €31,503. A third of those who paid to leave early had studied nautical science, while others studied engineering, financial maths, geomatics, financial management, strategic risk management and global security. Raco, which represents Defence Forces officers, said many young personnel had been “driven out” as barracks closures resulted in “impossible commutes” and plummeting numbers in the Defence Forces had left a culture of “double and treble jobbing”. Defence Forces personnel who complete courses during their military careers must sign an undertaking to continue to serve for two years for every year they spent in university. Raco general secretary Comdt Conor King said critical skills were draining out of the Defence Forces. Unless steps were taken to ensure better retention of personnel, the “dysfunctional cycle of turnover” that had worsened in 2019 would continue.