Vivienne Clarke

3 weeks ago | echolive.ie | Vivienne Clarke

The Minister for Older People, Kieran O’Donnell has said he met with Hiqa on Wednesday because of the “urgency” of the situation exposed in the “extremely distressing” RTÉ programme. “The programme was extremely distressing.

3 weeks ago | irishexaminer.com | Alison O'Reilly |Vivienne Clarke

HomepagenewsMunsterA Cork woman with stage 4 cervical cancer, following two misdiagnosed smear tests, says she still urges women to attend regular screenings and get vaccinated. Mother-of-two Leona Macken received an apology from the HSE at the High Court on Tuesday after two of her smear tests — first in 2016 and again in 2020 — were misread. The 38-year-old hairdresser said she has since been overwhelmed with messages of support from the public, and that the apology meant “the world” to her.

3 weeks ago | irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn |Vivienne Clarke

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) must appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer questions about its oversight arrangements, a PAC member has said. Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly has written to the committee’s chair, calling for the NTPF to be added to its programme for this term. "The budget of the NTPF has increased exponentially in recent years and now stands at more than €220m this year alone," said Mr Farrelly.

3 weeks ago | echolive.ie | Vivienne Clarke

Leona Macken, the 38-year-old woman with incurable cancer who received an apology in court on Tuesday from the HSE over the "failings" that occurred in two smear tests which led to her diagnosis, has said she would still encourage women to get a smear test and she would have her daughters vaccinated. However, she said she felt there was “something wrong” with the cervical screening programme that needed to be identified and addressed.

3 weeks ago | echolive.ie | Vivienne Clarke

An audit of the country's two paediatric critical care units, at Crumlin and Temple Street, has found that while they deliver high-quality care, the system is under strain. The number of children admitted to adult intensive care units doubled to 148 cases in 2023. The National Office of Clinical Audit found high bed occupancy rates, that were above 95 per cent, and says more investment is needed.