Irish still less likely to beat cancer
New figures revealed by the Department of Health show that while dramatic improvements have been made in Irish healthcare over the past decade, difficulties still remain.
The statistics, detailed in a 10-year study of health trends in this country, highlight how the number of people dying from breast cancer has dropped 20% between 2000 and 2009.
However, the figures also show that over the same period Ireland’s death rate from all cancers remained 5.5% above the EU average.
The details are contained in the major Department of Health booklet, Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2010, which chronicles the changing nature of Irish health over the past decade.
According to the report, available on the department’s website, just over one in four births in Ireland are now by Caesarean section.
It has also found that more than 1.5 million people in this country are now eligible for the medical card — a figure that has surged 30% in the past decade and 9% alone between 2008 and 2009.
The report has confirmed a key reason for this development is the growing unemployment problem, which is ensuring that an increasing number of people can now qualify for state medical cost help.
The average male life expectancy at birth is now 76.8 years for men and 81.6 years for women.
However, among sidelined population groups such as the Travelling community, which suffers from alienation both in terms of health issues and general daily difficulties, the average length of life can be as much as 15 years shorter.
Positive steps such as a reduction in the number of people attending overcrowded hospital emergency departments and the fact that immunisation among children is now at 95% — close to the Department’s own targets — have been highlighted by the document.
However, negative issues detailed include the reality that the total fertility rate for Ireland has decreased slightly over the decade-long statistical examination, by 2%, and that there has been a 27% rise in the number of children now in care.
