Despite a day of protracted talks on 28 October, health sector unions emerged ready for 24 hour strike action, due to take place on 24 November. Very little of the detail has been worked out in terms of duration or services affected but it is safe to predict that if it goes ahead:
* it will, in effect, be like Christmas day with minimal services available
* Nurses will continue to staff wards with emergency cover
* The Irish Nurses Organisation are at the talks but have no plans to ballot yet - but their members will provide emergency cover if on strike
The HSE and the Irish Dental Association (IDA) have strongly rejected reports that in excess of 10 per cent of the €85 million budget spent on a dental scheme may be paid to dentists making fraudulent and inappropriate claims. The scheme is known as the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS).
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been severely criticised for its failure to manage its own public dental service that provides free dental care for children, people with disabilities and older people in care. The criticisms are contained in a new report on the service. The Public Dental Service (PDS) has a budget of €60 million for 2009 and services are provided by 200 dentists, working as HSE employees.
More than 10 per cent of the claims made by private dentists could be inappropriate or fraudulent, writes Sara Burke
A SERIES of unpublished reports on the free dental scheme for adults reveals that in excess of 10 per cent of the €85 million budget is paid out by the HSE on inappropriate or fraudulently claimed payments by dentists in private practice.
In the last week alone, four reports detailing the performance of Ireland's health service have been published. Yet they hardly hit the public radar - blanket media coverage of NAMA is a sure boon for HSE public relations. The reports provide myriad facts and figures - the June and July HSE PR reports, the ESRI HIPE report for 2007, the Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General which has over 50 pages on different aspects of the health service. So what do these reports really tell us?
Mary Harney chose to take on the Department of Health in October 2004 believing that only she could reform the Irish health services. Three and a half years on, all of her main promises on health are broken.
By Sara Burke
Seaview, a documentary of the lives of asylum seekers living in the Mosney holiday camp, was one of few films selected for screening at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in February 2008. The film was shot over three years by Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley who lived and worked with the residents in Mosney. Sara Burke writes about the film and its makers.
The shocking story of the HSE and it's misappropriation of Mental Health Funding.
By Sara Burke
The HSE is “misappropriating funds allocated to develop mental health services”, while government is stripping mental health services of their main assets – buildings and land. This is according to groups working in mental health.