PD Failures in Women's Health Issues

national | consumer issues | opinion/analysis Tuesday November 06, 2007 18:39 by C Murray

From Neary to Porlaoise Via Sligo.

On the 04/09/07 there was a press release detailing a possible mis-diagnosis problem in relation to the mammogram service at Portlaoise Hospital, the press release said that there were possibly 5,000 women effected and there was no press release from Mary Harney's Department. The Hospital board and the HSE managed the timed release of materials including the fact that many of the patients had been on the Treatment Purchase Fund Scheme. This info emanated in the direct aftermath of Ms Harney's travelling to Barrington's Hospital in Cork where up to 1,000 women were similarly effected. Today there is a press release from DOHC which is written in response to emergent details of 8 women with a diagnosis of cancer who had been cleared and 19 awaiting second opinions.

http://www.dodc.ie/press/releaes/2007/200711102b.html

New Website pic

A quick look back at 2006:-

Two rape victims in Sligo were transported to Dublin for forensic examination due to the closure of dedicated RCC and trauma units in that County, the DOHC had not been funding the units and did not allow for the training of forensic nurses in their capitation. The women were sent to the already over-stretched Rotunda Sexual Assault unit in Dublin.

In 2006 DOHC brought in a scaled compensation package for women who had caesarian sections and ovary removal by Dr Michael Neary, the woman at the head of our health department allowed for a sliding scheme wherin a woman who had removal of her uterus as a result of unecessary section at the end of her reproductive cycle got less than a young woman who had the same procedure at the beginning of the cycle thereby underscoring the value of her in terms of her abilty to reproduce. Interestingly no-one commented on this sly and indifferent commodification of women by MH.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82055
Dr Neary is now facing criminal charges whilst the whole system that held him in place in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital is still there and only two consultants who had not stopped or queried the removal of healthy uterus' and ovaries have 'retired' and are on pension packages.

The DOHC also promulgated an amalgamation programme, termed The Creation of Centres of Excellence for Health Care on three major Dublin Hospitals without delineating a programme for emergency care in the areas where hospitals will be lost;-

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/81630 ST Luke's, Crumlin Children's Hospital and Tallaght are effected, with no reply from either DOHC nor the HSE on provision of breathing clinics, wound dressing or dedicated emergency centres in the absence of A+E's.

The reply from Harney and HSE are in the links at:- http://www.indymedia.ie/srticle/81630

Today in the Dail Bertie is insistent that the only reply to the issue is further amalgamation whilst ignoring the issue of the two tier health system which has failed women with children in this state. He also says that a second opinion is necessary in terms of radiography without explaining how this will be provisioned in a collapsed health system which is run by a business woman and a highly paid unelected HSE- who are mandated by no-one to carry out huge decisions that effect everyone in the state and without recourse to the electorate.

Between the 4th of September 2007 and today there has been absolutely no responsibility taken by DOHC and indeed for ten crucial days Mary Harney completely dissappeared without leaving her junior in charge of responding or releasing information to people who are facing enormous issues with repurcussions for their children and extended < families.not one opposition TD asked for Ms Harney's resignation today, but waffled on about primary care and insurances. The huge difference between Ms Harney's travelling to Cork to assure patients that DOHC would explore the issue and her mismanagement of The Midland's Hospital issue indicates in practice a complete disregard for patient welfare unalleviated by any concern for patient care.