The chairman of the West Regional Health Forum has called for ‘no more delays’ in the publication of the report into the death of Savita Halappanavar last October.

A criminal barrister said a “body on a slab” approach to burglars as recommended by a councillor would be a “blank card” to homeowners to shoot anyone in their homes.

In an ideal world an individual would never have to confront an intruder in their home. In an ideal world the courts system would impose the kind of sanctions that would deter most criminals from relatively petty crimes such as burglary or fuel theft.

A leading health official in the west said that the investigation into the Savita Halappanavar tragedy must quickly establish if it is an isolated case.

The chair of the HSE West Forum has described as “absolutely outrageous” the failure of one consultant to sign forms that would release €500,000 to the cash-strapped HSE.

Patients dressed in pyjamas at a smoke-free hospital campus are hiding behind trees and bushes to smoke, chairman of the HSE West Forum has said.

The non-attendance of about 35,000 outpatients for appointments in two Galway public hospitals last year has contributed to the largest waiting list in the country.

Galway University Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda are the two worst performing hospitals in the country, according to a HSE survey.

Private security in six HSE hospitals cost over €2m in 2010 and almost €900,000 for the first six months of 2011.

THE HSE West says it is starting to see significant improvements in its battle against absenteeism in the region.

ONE-in-five patients have to wait between 12 and 24 hours to be admitted through the A&E at the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick.

THE murder of an Irishman in Boston last week should be the catalyst for having the plight of the undocumented in the United States finally addressed, according to a former mayor of Galway.

MORE than 5,000 HSE staff are out sick every day, with management saying the absenteeism rate is “too high”.

AN investigation has been launched after patient documents from a hospital in Sligo were found dumped in a bog in Co Galway.

THE regional director of operations in HSE West, John Hennessy has claimed absenteeism in major acute hospitals is not being reduced quickly enough.

TWO of the most high-profile candidates in the race for the presidency suffered setbacks yesterday when they were snubbed by local authorities.

THE “indiscriminate” arrangements for transporting dialysis and cancer patients for treatment in the west of Ireland is to end.

THE director for operations in the HSE West area said yesterday there was no possibility of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital’s A&E unit being closed at night-time due to a shortage of junior doctors.

THE director of operations for Health Executive Service (HSE) West, John Hennessy, yesterday called for the criteria in which acute hospitals are evaluated through the HSE Healthstat system to be changed.

THE chairman of the HSE West Regional Forum, Padraig Conneely, has called on Health Minister, James Reilly, to intervene in the performance of University College Hospital Galway.

SAVAGE health cuts of almost €50 million will have to be imposed in the west of Ireland by the end of the year, it has been revealed.

GALWAY is throwing a party like only it can this week and local election candidates are capitalising on the good mood across town hosting the Volvo Ocean Race.

A quick-thinking mother helped foil a violent kidnap plot as a traumatised businessman and his family were held hostage at gunpoint during a raid at their rural home.

It is feared that Galway's water problems could be back.

A body set up by the Government to give local councillors a say in HSE matters has passed a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Mary Harney.

IMPACT trade union has ordered its members working in Galway City Council not to co-operate with a local councillor who, they allege, bullied both an authority director and the city manager.

A number of areas around Galway city and county are still without water supplies following an electrical fault at a treatment plant last week.

Homes and businesses in some parts of Galway look set to enter their third night without a water supply, due to an electrical problem at the Luimnagh Water Plant.

Many residents in Galway city and county are still without water today, three days after an electrical fault at the Luimnagh Treatment Plant interrupted the supply.

THIRTY construction workers yesterday walked off site in a pay dispute in the latest setback to the controversial revamp of Eyre Square in Galway city.

DANA was given a slim hope of making it to a presidential election when Galway City Council backed her yesterday after the three Fine Gael members broke ranks to vote for her.

DISGRACED Bishop Eamonn Casey should be invited back to Galway next weekend to attend a jubilee Mass which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pope’s visit, according to the city’s deputy mayor.