Another week, another HSE scandal. This week opens with the disclosure that a new respiratory ward specifically to help cystic fibrosis patients at Cork University Hospital, one funded by a charity to the tune of €2.3m, stands idle because the health service does not have the staff to man it.

There are enough warning signs the world is in danger of reverting to an era when life-saving antibiotics were unavailable, a leading Irish microbiologist has warned.

Six years ago, the Health Service Executive cleared a backlog of cervical smear tests by using a company in Texas to assess almost 40,000 samples.

One in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Organisation.

Standards of care for mental health patients are to improve within weeks, it was promised today.