THE Government’s deadline to have a special Limerick residential centre for troubled children in place by next year came into question yesterday when it was confirmed that recruitment of key staff has got bogged down.

FOR years, activists campaigning for improved cancer services have argued the obvious: patient outcomes are reflected in access to quality treatment.

Ian Carter has taken over the reins as chief executive of St James Hospital in Dublin.

THE WAGE bill at the Health Services Executive (HSE) Mid-Western has risen by €30 million since the Government reorganised the health service in a bid to slash wasteful bureaucracy.

THE first steps are being taken by the Health Service Executive (HSE) towards the establishment of the long-awaited national cervical cancer screening service, it has been revealed.

NURSES have hit back at the Health Service Executive (HSE) to defend their colleagues after the HSE issued a statement accusing them of preventing up to 1,800 operations taking place through their “irregular” work practices.

THE Government continues to stall on setting a date for the implementation of a national cervical cancer screening service, despite Ireland having one of the highest death rates in the world from the disease.

THE number of patients treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the mid-west increased by over 60% between 2000 and 2004.

PEOPLE in the Mid-West with neurological illnesses face a wait of more than a year to get to see a consultant, the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland president said.

Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

PATIENTS in the mid-west face long journeys and hospital delays for routine medical checks normally carried out by GPs.

THE High Court yesterday began a hearing to assess damages to be paid to a 12-year-old boy — the eldest of a family of seven — who is brain damaged, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

THE VHI has been accused of threatening a new 100-bed private hospital planned for the grounds of Adare Manor hotel.

A LIMERICK hospital is investigating claims that a patient died during a breakdown in care procedures after two newly-qualified doctors were left alone to monitor a ward.

HEALTH boards paid out €85 million last year to keep just 600 children in residential care, new figures have revealed.

EXTRA gardaí have been drafted and a temporary health clinic installed to deal with a Christmas influx of Travellers to a west Limerick town.

Number of patients contracting super bug 'declines'

THOUSANDS of Mid-Western Health Board workers had Christmas shopping plans thrown into chaos yesterday when their fortnightly salaries were not lodged in their accounts.

A national screening programme is needed to end the increasing number of deaths from cervical cancer, a new report claimed today.

The Mid-Western Health Board is investigating claims a 74-year-old woman was left on a trolley in an A&E ward for 33 hours.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern will come under pressure today to order an independent investigation into how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a licence to the Aughinish Alumina plant.

The Mid-Western Health Board today denied reports it may have to turn expectant mothers away from Limerick's only public maternity hospital because of staff shortages.

Consultants at Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital have reportedly warned that they may be forced to turn pregnant women away because staff levels are too low to ensure safe deliveries.

FEARS of a national maternity crisis mounted last night after consultants in Limerick’s only public maternity hospital warned they may be forced to turn women away because they do not have enough staff to ensure safe deliveries.

DISHES such as the Giant African Snail and cow’s hooves have been discovered for sale by health inspectors visiting ethnic food restaurants, a health seminar in Killaloe heard yesterday.

THE father of a young woman who hanged herself hours after being transferred from a private hospital to a public ward vowed last night to pursue the Department of Health though the courts until he got justice for his daughter.

THERE were hopes last night of a breakthrough in the long-running dispute between consultants and the Department of Health over insurance cover.

A €4.2 million secure unit for juvenile delinquents which has been lying idle since April was the subject of top-level talks yesterday to review its future.

CONCERN that the development of a €12 million private radiotherapy centre in Limerick could impact on the feasibility of a supra-regional unit in Galway has been expressed by Comhairle na nOspidéal.

REGIONS outside greater Dublin are at the early stages of a cocaine epidemic, a health expert warned yesterday.

PARENTS have been warned to vaccinate their children against whooping cough after more than a dozen suspected cases were discovered in Limerick and Clare.

The Mid-Western Health Board has issued a whooping cough alert after five people - aged between seven weeks and 17 years old - were diagnosed with the disease.

A Limerick pub has become the latest pub in Ireland to join the revolt against the Government’s ban on smoking in the workplace.

The Mid-Western Health Board has put plans in place ahead of the visit of the US President George W Bush to Ireland this weekend.

CHILDREN eligible for orthodontic treatment are being denied treatment in many areas and parents are being forced to go into debt to send them to the North for treatment, it was claimed yesterday.

TWENTY-four-hour medical cover meant patients with heart attacks, spinal or head injuries, and accident victims will be stabilised in hospitals like Nenagh and Ennis before transfer to major trauma centres in Cork and Limerick, sais Health Minister Micheál Martin yesterday.

WOMEN in abusive relationships can be at greater risk of physical and sexual violence when pregnant, women support agencies have warned.

THE proliferation of fast-food outlets is contributing to “toxic” environments which make it more difficult for people to eat healthily, the Irish Heart Foundation said yesterday.

HOPES were growing in the Mid-Western region last night that the battle to have a €6.1 million radiotherapy unit situated in Limerick will succeed. Two junior ministers, Willie O’Dea and Tim O’Malley, yesterday expressed confidence that Minister for Health Micheál Martin will give the go-ahead for the radiotherapy facility.

MINISTER for Health and Children Micheál Martin has ordered a re-examination of the proposal for a private cancer-treatment facility in Limerick.

IT is an outrage that the Department of Health has effectively been frustrating a proposal to help the most vulnerable people in society — people who are ill with cancer.

THE State is paying over €22 million each year to keep less than 100 children in health board high support and special care units.

SCHOOLS should be used to encourage young people to seek help when they are experiencing problems, according to a major study on suicide and mental health.