In 2002 an investigation into the deaths of two young children at the Bride Street/Ross Road flats in Dublin recommended that a fire safety audit be carried out by the council. Nearly four years on the audit has not been completed. Emma Browne reports
The Medical Council has acted wisely in asking its Fitness to Practice Committee to review the professional conduct of the three Dublin obstetricians, who said in 1998 that Michael Neary, the Drogheda obstetrician, had no case to answer. This was the obstetrician who had subjected 129 women to caesarean hysterectomonies, a great many of them unnecessarily. The cases of Michael Nearly which the Dublin obstetricians reviewed were subsequently reviewed by a noted British obstetrician, who was appalled by what the cases revealed.
The health services failed to seek consent from a parent for early intervention treatment for his child despite previously getting legal advice in this area and being told they should. Emma Browne reports
How an obstetrician could rip the wombs from 129 women and how nobody – not the nuns who owned the hospital, the midwives, the fellow consultants nor the nursing staff – shouted stop. By Sara Burke
There are a few startling observations in Maureen Harding Clarke's superb report on her inquiry in peripartum hysterectomy at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. On page 23 of her report she quotes a sister of the Medical Missionaries of Mary (“Sr B”) as saying: “Let me say that I was aware that hysterectomies were done in Ireland more often than was necessary because sterilisation was ethically not acceptable”.
The knee-jerk ban on the sale or possession of mushrooms containing psilocybin has been backed by five of the six major parties in the Dáil, despite none having any evidence to support their stance. Peter McGuire reports
Issues raised recently by the Children's Ombudsman were highlighted almost four years ago by the SAVI report, but its recommendations were largely ignored. By Emma Browne
The Black Dog is an Irish interactive self-help website for men coping with mental distress. It is a confidential, independent, non-judgmental place to browse, let off steam and get support. John Higgins talks to Steven Winder, aka Barry Golightly, co-founder of the website
A new national mental health policy document, 'A Vision for Change', has just been released by the Department of Health and Children. But is this just another agenda of commitments again to be broken? By Siobhan Barry
New research shows the damaging effects of domestic violence on children and recommends services must be developed to specifically cater for these children. By Emma Browne