Health Manager

Managers fear they will be unable to deliver

A HMI survey has revealed that senior health managers are concerned that in the wake of the February staff departures they may be unable to deliver specific services, including some statutory services, writes Maureen Browne

Uncertainty and confusion on way forward

One month into the new year, senior health managers are plunged into uncertainty over slashed budgets, funding February’s exit package and the challenges of continuing to provide safe, sustainable services following the departure of thousands of staff, writes Maureen Browne

Managing healthcare’s information overload

With the continuing maturation of electronic medical records and telemedicine, the worlds of health care and information technology are now coming together at warp speed to create an aligned, integrated galaxy unlike any other in the universe of high-tech businesses, writes Michael Dowling

How much is a life worth?

Health managers were asked how much they thought a life was worth and how much they thought additional months of life were worth, at the HMI Forum, organised by HMI West. Maureen Browne reports

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Write to Maureen

Health Manager Editor, Maureen Browne, would love to hear your views or comments on any aspects of the health service, on any issues raised in the current edition or your ideas or suggestions for articles for the journal.

maureen@hmi.ie

IN THIS ISSUE

Will health service be found like Marie Celeste?

Like the ghostly Marie Celeste, the Irish health service could be found drifting, with a depleted crew or no crew at all and people will wonder why this happened, writes Maureen Browne

Intellectual disability services will be cut in 2012

Over the last four years, service providers have done everything possible to prevent cuts impacting on individuals with intellectual disability and their families, but more cuts will make it impossible to protect all frontline services in future, writes Maureen Browne

Does the public think Croke Park is delivering?

The vast majority of the large crowd of senior managers who attended the HMI West Forum in Merlin Park Hospital in Galway believed the public did not think that the Croke Park Agreement had delivered, although they themselves thought it was delivering on its very challenging objectives in a number of areas

A new legal provision for living wills

While Advance Decisions (more commonly known as Advance Care Directives or Living Wills) are legally persuasive, they are not legally binding in Ireland, but a new Bill – The Advance Healthcare Decisions Bill 2012 – will provide the first legal framework to facilitate their making and to provide for their effect, write Rebecca Ryan and Paul Clifford

Assessing technology clinical benefits

In the current economic climate, health technology assessment (HTA) plays a vital public-interest role. New clinical effectiveness guidelines published recently by HIQA can contribute to better technology assessment and thereby help deliver safer better healthcare to the public, writes Martin Flattery

Special Delivery Unit Appointments

Appointments to the Special Delivery Unit

New Management Arrangements

Two new CEOs have been appointed to two groups of hospitals in the West and Mid West for a three year period, under new management arrangements

Health Minister, Dr. James Reilly, T.D., turns the sod on the new Acute Psychiatric Unit at Beaumont Hospital (l to r) Dr. James Reilly, Mr. Liam Duffy, CEO, Beaumont Hospital; Dr. Mary Cosgrave, Executive Clinical Director, HSE North Dublin Mental Health Service and Mr. Stephen Mulvany, Regional Director of Operations, HSE Dublin North East.

New Beaumont Acute Psychiatric Unit

The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, T.D. has turned the sod on the new Adult Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Facility to be built on the Beaumont Hospital campus in Dublin.

O’Moore Medal presented to Kieran Hickey

HMI Fellow and former HMI President, Mr. Kieran Hickey has become the first senior health manager to be presented with the prestigious O’Moore Medal by the Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland (HISI) and the Royal Irish Academy

Temple Street wins Nurse of the Year Award

Clara Murtagh of the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street won the Nurse of the Year Award at the 2011 SMA Nutrition maternity & infant Awards

Expert Group to examine abortion ruling

The Government has established an Expert Group to examine the A, B and C v Ireland judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

Costs of robot-assisted keyhole surgery

The costs of introducing robot-assisted keyhole surgery could be significant.

HMI Training and Development Services Guide

The Health Management Institute of Ireland (HMI) launches new Training and Development Services Guide for 2012.

Diary of events

Some upcoming dates for your diary.

Training Focus

How good are you at performance reviews?

The reality is that in many cases the evidence used during performance reviews is weak and lacks substance, writes Keith McCarthy

Book review: Management Tips

The redoubtable Harvard Business Review has published a first for this scion of business publishing: A collection of “tips” gleaned from the writings of its stellar cast of modern-day internet bloggers.