Now it's the doctors turn to ask "what have you done"?

national | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Friday April 01, 2005 17:53 by iosaf

following on from the professional underpaid peer group of teachers rage at the FF PD Regime

"This weekend’s Irish Medical Organisation annual general meeting will give members an opportunity to vent their frustration with the Fianna Fáil/ Progressive Democrat government, which has failed to deliver the badly-needed reforms promised in the health reform programme.

The new Minister for Health, Mary Harney, no doubt, will tell delegates that progress has been made on a number of key issues.

But this will not be enough for the GPs, consultants, NCHDs and public health doctors, who know from first-hand experience that the health service continues to be under-resourced and badly managed."

the words of the Irish Medical Times an online organ which voices opinion of the Irish Medical Organisation.

put the jigsaw together - ¿are we as a society in good shape?

Ireland is one of the state of the European Union with below average spending on Health.

It is one of the states of the union with the slowest accident and emergency response time.

It is one the states of the union with the least well thought Health policies to tackle-

one of the highest rates of Heart disease in the EU
one of the highest rates of Obesity in the EU.
one of the lowest ratios of hospital space to those who need it.

Read the editorial comment of the Irish Medical Times:-
http://www.imt.ie/display_editorial.asp?WID=174

Harney defends her plans for a new type of health card and mini-emergency wards by describing them as being "innovative".

At the IMO conference the delegates will be asked to vote on several rejections of Harney's innovation including:-
the Education and Training Sub Committee of the National Task Force on Medical Staffing (Hanly 2) without consultation and agreement with the medical professional bodies.
Harney says she shouldn't consult, coz that inteferes with her innovation. On her permenant record of innovation without proper consultation is the assistance given to Elan who innovated without complying with regulations and are now going pop with the innovative possible loss of 500 jobs.

http://www.imo.ie/

Mr George McNeice Chief Executiveof the IMO AGM has today addressed his colleagues in the health profession. They are a highly trained and incorporated peer group, who tellingly have chosen to work either in the "small business sector" of GPs and specialists or in the service of communities in public or private or semi-private hospitals.

They have not chosen to work in biotech or pharmacuetical research, such qualified medical professionals do not have as of yet an annual conference. Pity they're the sort of ambitious driven by capitalist avarice doctors Minister Harney likes.

"they innovate".

Ireland does boasts (¿?) the highest number of politicised doctors in the European Union. A surprisingly high number of TDs and members of local assemblies are doctors. And their party affiliation varies from FF to FG to Labour, where they hold key posts. There are also many campaiging doctors who have stood in the past as independent candidates. The Monaghan Hospital affair being the last to "prompt" these professionals into politics. To remind you in a previous FF ministry of health a little girl died beacuse she was turned away for emergency care, in 2002 the government had to defend themselves against serious allegations of under-funding.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2002/1213/3946168612HM1HOSPITAL.html
Many patients saw treatment in Northern Ireland instead which by the way is on the other side of the border, in what we technically refer to as the UK where kids get better nutrition and the local health authorities are trying to import Polish doctors.

You will remember the party of innovation and Mc Dowell lobbied to stop the polish having equal work rights in this "celtic tiger" state.

Yet the "innovative" new Minister for Health,
the Mammy Granny of the eggs and kettles
Mary Harney has cut funding to that hospital.
http://www.saveourhospital.com/news.php#news243

Today's address by Mr George McNeice Chief Executive at the Annual General Meeting of the Irish Medical Organisation
:-
http://www.imo.ie/view_categories.php?cat_id=574&doc_id=3928

Last link to an article published today in the Irish Times reproduced by a contributor / reader (in the other press section) which highlights the intolerable wrongs-

.:.
The Facts speak for themselves.
The FF PD regime has under-invested in
Education and Health.
These are intolerable wrongs which have
accumulated through years of poor governance.
The only solution is regime change
.:.