Shauna Bowers

6 days ago | irishtimes.com | Shauna Bowers

More than half of the staff posts funded in clinics for endometriosis, a debilitating gynaecological condition, are currently unfilled, new figures show. Endometriosis is a chronic disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It affects about 10 per cent of women and girls of reproductive age globally.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Shauna Bowers

The maker of weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy broke rules around the advertising and marketing of its medication to healthcare workers over three years, the medicines watchdog has found. The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), the medicines regulator, said pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk had complied with regulations during an inspection in May 2023, but there were also “a significant number of non-compliances”.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Shauna Bowers

The Minister for Health has appointed Dr Yvonne Traynor and Anne Carrigy to the board of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI). The body, which operates paediatric healthcare in the State, has faced significant upheaval after four board members resigned over the past week. The board’s chairman, Jim Browne, resigned last month. The resignations followed two reviews that highlighted issues within the group’s paediatric orthopaedic units.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Shauna Bowers

The number of illegal or fake weight loss drugs seized by the medicines watchdog this month is almost five times that seized in all of last year, new figures show. On Thursday, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) issued an “urgent warning” about online advertisements making “spurious claims” about illegal or falsified medicines, many of which purport to be endorsed by the regulator. The HPRA said it seized 7,815 fake or illegal weight-loss drugs between May 1st and 28th.

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Shauna Bowers

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is actively considering subsuming Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) into the Health Service Executive (HSE) following recent controversies at the operator of paediatric healthcare in the State, The Irish Times understands. CHI was established in 2019 to govern and operate paediatric services in Ireland, and currently operates Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght hospitals. Upon completion, it will operate the new National Children’s Hospital.