Dummy ebola runs won’t allay my fears

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine and the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, have expressed concerns about the Government’s preparedness for any ebola cases. 

To allay these public concerns a planned test of the National Isolation Unit’s ability to deal in an effective manner with a case of ebola was carried out successfully at the Mater hospital.

How can the public be confident that the HSE and the IMO have the capacity to organise and implement an effective response?

The recent vetting and hiring of a paediatric surgeon from abroad, primarily on the basis of a telephone interview, to work at the State’s largest children’s hospital and who did not know how to scrub up for theatre, was unable to put on surgical gloves and prescribe paracetamol, doesn’t fill me with confidence. I think I’ll hold on to the iodine tablets.

Tom Cooper

Templeville Road

Templeogue

Dublin 6w