Almost 1,000 extra GP's required to meet demand over next 15 years
Clip • 6 Mins • 18 JUN • Morning Ireland
Tadhg Crowley, GP Chair of the Irish Medical Organisation, on new research outlining the projected demand for GP services over the next 15 years.
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The Journal
4 days ago
- The Journal
Mother and Baby Home survivors feel re-traumatised by redress scheme exclusion
THE SPECIAL ADVOCATE for survivors of Mother and Baby Homes has called on the Government to stop excluding people from access to redress schemes and to their own records. Patricia Carey said survivors have told her they have been 're-traumatised' by the Government issuing apologies to them while simultaneously excluding them from redress schemes put in place for those who spent time in institutions. The mother and baby institution redress scheme was launched in March last year. To date, over €66 million in payments have been issued to survivors. Around 34,000 people are eligible to apply for redress under the scheme. However, thousands of survivors are excluded, including those who spent less than six months in an institution as a child. Carey's first annual report was published yesterday. It found that these exclusions are 'discriminatory and unjust', and that the State 'should re-examine and revise the current legislation with a view to expanding it to include those currently excluded'. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that survivors who receive redress 'feel guilty because other's can't'. 'The only institutions that are covered are county homes and 14 mother and baby institutions. I know, and we know, that there were a network of over 180 institutions,' she said. She said there are a 'myriad of exclusions', including that children who were boarded out to work on farms unpaid when they were as young as five have never been included in any redress scheme. 'In Northern Ireland, they're going to bring in a mother and baby redress scheme where people will receive redress for one day spent. In the Republic, it's 180 days. So that has really upset people.' Access to records Carey met over 1,300 survivors of institutional abuse while writing her report. She said the 'biggest issue' that was raised with her was survivors being unable to access their own records from mother and baby institutions. The Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 was established to grants right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information, where available, for all persons who were adopted, boarded out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or who otherwise have questions in relation to their origins. Advertisement But Carey's report states that some survivors have been unable to access records relating to their birth and early life and care, education, health and medical records, and their placement for adoption in Ireland and abroad. 'This is due to the records being destroyed, moved, or in private or religious ownership,' the report states. Survivors have also experienced 'ongoing challenges' in finding accurate information in their search for details of family members, as well as difficulties in accessing records such as burial and death certificates for children that died in institutions. 'Three out of every five people, they're still looking for records,' Carey told Morning Ireland, adding that they are still in the hands of private and religious organisations. Both the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, private nursing homes, religious orders, still hold records related to people's times in institutions. They have no right to hold them. They have to hand them over to the State. She said the Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024 made it a criminal offense to move or destroy records. 'I believe that the next stage of that legislation is to take in charge those records, that they are given to the National Archives and that the people they relate to have access to their own records.' Carey added that this needs to happen 'immediately'. 'We've had over 200 years of people in institutions before the foundation of the State. People are aging out of this process. I had a woman who was 78 who asked for her records and was told to contact six different organisations for her own records of the time she spent in institutions.' Carey is also calling for survivors to have access to enhanced health care, enhanced housing supports, and for the Government to include the status of 'Survivor' as a housing status application. She said this would be at no cost to the Government. 'It would mean that if somebody was making an application for housing, the same way as you would say you had a particular medical issue or a disability, you would receive extra points on the housing application waiting list. 'I believe that survivor status for those people who don't have families, who were forcibly separated from their families, or who didn't have any early life experience at a home should be given additional weighting and status on housing lists.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
Children in Gaza dying of thirst after trucks carrying water blocked
UNICEF has warned that while the world's attention is focused elsewhere, the situation in Gaza is "at the worst it has ever been" with the Palestinian territory hitting "rock bottom". The UN agency has said that 400 aid distribution points in Gaza had dwindled to just four. The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March to the end of May and continues to impose restrictions, according to rights groups. UNICEF Communications Specialist for Children in Gaza Rosalia Bollen said hospitals are on their last legs and are overwhelmed with the overflow of injured people, shortages of medicine and medical supplies. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said: "We are seeing a very chilling pattern day in, day out. No one should have to choose between dying of hunger or risking their life to get food." She said gunfire and people screaming can be heard near aid distribution points. According to figures issued by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, over 500 people have been killed and nearly 3,800 wounded in the territory by Israeli fire while seeking aid since the start of last month, which is being distributed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Pressure grew yesterday on the privately run, which was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May to replace United Nations agencies but whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called the US- and Israeli-backed system an "abomination" that has put Palestinians' lives at risk, while a spokesman for the UN human rights office, Thameen Al-Kheetan, condemned the "weaponisation of food" in the territory. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people this morning, including six who were waiting to collect food aid. 'Hungry, thirsty and exhausted' "Every child is hungry, thirsty and exhausted," Ms Bollen said, adding that as temperatures soar, there is not enough clean water for sanitation, as disease spreads across Gaza. She said sewage is overflowing in the streets as pumping stations do not have enough fuel to operate. "It's really a man-made catastrophe we are seeing unfolding in front of our eyes," she added. UNICEF said children are beginning to die of thirst in Gaza as fuel for trucks to distribute water across the territory has not been allowed in. Child malnutrition throughout Gaza The number of malnourished children in Gaza is rising at an alarming rate, with 5,119 children between six months and five years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone, UNICEF said last week. The conflict has damaged or destroyed essential water, sanitation, and health systems in Gaza, and has limited the ability to treat severe malnutrition, with just 127 of 236 treatment centres remaining functional, due to displacement orders and incessant bombardments. In a report over the weekend, UNICEF said of the 5,119 children admitted to treatment for acute malnutrition last year, 636 children have severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This is the most lethal form of malnutrition. "These children need consistent, supervised treatment, safe water, and medical care to survive – all of which are increasingly scarce in Gaza today," UNICEF said. UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder said: "Every one of these cases is preventable. The food, water, and nutrition treatments they desperately need are being blocked from reaching them. "Man-made decisions that are costing lives. Israel must urgently allow the large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings," he added. UNICEF also warned that the amount of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF), a lifesaving essential for children suffering from acute levels of malnutrition, is running "critically low". 'Focus to shift to Gaza' After the truce on the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict was announced, Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said Israel's focus would "now shift back to Gaza". The Israeli opposition, the Palestinian Authority and the main group representing the families of Israeli hostages all called for a Gaza truce to complement the Iran ceasefire. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting Donald Trump in The Hague yesterday, hailed the Iran-Israel ceasefire but said Ankara and Washington must work closely to "end the war in Gaza". Soldiers killed in Gaza overnight It comes as Israel's army said seven of its soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, where the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas continues. The army's website listed the names of five soldiers and a platoon commander from the same battalion who "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip". It added that a seventh soldier was also killed, but his family had not given permission for him to be named. More than 430 Israeli soldiers have died in the war, triggered by Hamas' 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians. The militants also seized 251 hostages - of which 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military say are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
The Journal
5 days ago
- The Journal
Seven-day roster is 'robbing Peter to pay Paul', say consultants, as staffing still a pain point
CONSULTANTS HAVE EQUATED the health minister's decision to spread outpatient services across seven days with 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'. Minister Jennfier Carroll MacNeill today announced that thousands of healthcare staff – including senior consultants, social workers, administrative employees and therapists – will have to work weekends in an effort to curb overcrowding and reduce waiting times. The Irish Medical Organisation's (IMO) Consultant's Committee says, despite the minister's plans, no new rostering arrangements outside of existing contracts can be invoked. 'There has been no change to the contractual provisions already in place; consultants on the new public-only contract may be rostered over six days from Monday to Saturday. 'Meanwhile, those on older contracts may be rostered in line with their contractual provisions.' Professor Matthew Sadlier said they recognise the need to extend services to the weekend, but the presence of staff on these days will not be enough to alleviate the long delays for patients. 'We desperately need to see wholescale recruitment of staff and the elimination of the effective recruitment freeze,' he said. 'We also need greater capacity in acute beds so that all patients, once deemed ill enough to be admitted, can be moved to an appropriate bed and treated in the right setting.' Professor Sadlier warned that weekend rostering cannot come at the expense of weekday treatment. 'The IMO is not ideologically opposed to extended services, but their introduction cannot be based on robbing Peter to pay Paul where there may be a reduction in services on other days. 'If the HSE and government want extended services, they must invest in workforce and capacity and ensure that all services are safe for those working in them and using them.' Sinn Féin's health spokesperson David Cullinane said weekend rostering is a step in the right direction, but existing staff shouldn't be burdened by an increased workload. Advertisement 'This change by itself will see more staff working at weekends, but without additional staff it will mean less staff working during the week,' said Cullinane. 'The HSE must ensure that there is the same level of productivity and quality of care delivered whether it is during the week or at the weekend. More staff working ordinary contracted hours at the weekend and during the evenings is the best way to achieve this. 'Tinkering around the edges will only give the appearance of change, but it will not solve the waiting list crisis.' The health minister said the new arrangements will create a 'more spread out and stable hospital system'. Carroll MacNeill told RTÉ's News at One that those visiting hospitals this week will notice a 'huge difference' in the contrast of activity between weekdays and weekends. 'I've heard this argument from consultants: If you come in on Saturday, we won't be available another day. I already know that.' She said it's about having the same standard of care available every day of the week. The plan means more appointments for scans and other diagnostic activities will take place in the evenings and on weekends, with the hope of eventually having theatres operating on weekends too. MacNeill says she will now engage with hospital managers and clinical leadership about how the expanded roster can be implemented. She is to hold a conference in the Department of Health in September to hear how hospitals are finding the changes. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) says they 'have no issues' working weekends and 'have done so for decades', but they welcome the provision of additional support staffing at weekends to help deliver care. 'However, it must be acknowledged that there is a finite number of consultants in the system. Simply rearranging rosters does not address the underlying and chronic issues facing our health service,' a spokesperson said. 'The core problem remains a capacity crisis — a shortage of beds, staff, and facilities — and any initiative that suggests otherwise risks creating a misleading sense of reassurance.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
