Results 7,261-7,280 of 12,734 for speaker:Louise O'Reilly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: He said that to me, but he never got back to me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: The initial request was made by me and Deputy Bríd Smith, and possibly others. The issue has been raised countless times. Each time we raise it, including directly with the Minister, we are told that everything is grand and that the information will be provided very quickly. It still has not been provided. It has been sought for years. The HSE is well aware that the information we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: We should write to both, to be on the safe side. We should definitely write to CervicalCheck requesting a full breakdown, including dates. We need meaningful information. The Chair read the report provided. There is nothing in it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I thank the witnesses for attending. I would not describe myself as a nerd but I understand work and industrial relations because that is the way I made my living for a while. I will get on to those matters fairly quickly but page 1 of the witnesses' statement refers to fitness to practise inquiries and the way complaints are dealt with in accordance with rules and fair procedures. I refer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I understand that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I referred specifically to a matter that was raised in the witnesses' opening statement. It is my intention to follow up this case with the Minister. I have one question to put.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I understand that. The witnesses may decline to answer. I have one question with regard to the issue of fair procedures. It relates to where someone can go following a complaint being received.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: The issue was raised in the opening statement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I believe the Chairman is being unfair but I will not pursue the matter because I do not wish to be vexatious or contentious. I will pursue the matter, however. We will stick to issues of workforce planning. That is fair. Dr. Doyle indicated that the average age of doctors is 44.5 years. Is the average age increasing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I am most interested in GPs. I am conscious that there is a very young GP in the room with us, although I am not referring in any way to the Chairman. I had a friend who used to say averages tell us nothing because if one puts one foot in a bucket of ice and the other in a bucket of boiling water, on average, one's temperature will be fine. However, in this instance, the averages or trends...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: That would be helpful, if only to inform where we need to direct efforts to try to address the issue. Clearly, if the average age among a particular cohort is increasing, it would indicate a problem in a particular area. Dr. Doyle indicated that doctors believe they are not adequately appreciated and valued. As I said, I am not a nerd but I know something about work. Nothing says I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I share that view. It does not matter how many training courses are put in place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: If someone cannot get protected time to attend a training course, there may as well be 50 courses running per week because if someone cannot attend, that person cannot benefit. It is all down to capacity and recruitment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: We are still in breach of the European working time directive on a daily and weekly basis for non-consultant hospital doctors, NCHDs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: The course is offered but-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: It is not that they do not want to take it. The course is being offered but they are not being facilitated to take time off. We are on a merry-go-round if we keep landing back at the same place, namely, recruitment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: Dr. Doyle referred to the issue of graduates going abroad. Graduates, particularly doctors and nurses who have a qualification that makes them highly mobile, like to go abroad for a year or two and see the world before returning. My information, which probably tallies with that of Dr. Doyle, is that doctors and nurses are leaving and getting a glimpse of what it is like to work abroad....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: I fully appreciate that it is a guess. I just wanted to get a sense of the numbers involved. Dr. Doyle referred to the culture in which medicine is practised and the fact that no limit is applied to the hours worked by consultants, GPs or NCHDs. This applies across the board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: The level of burnout will cause an acceleration in the increase in the average age of doctors. It will push up the figure of 44.5 years even further because younger people are not entering the profession to bring that average down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Workforce Planning in the Health Sector: Discussion (9 Oct 2019)

Louise O'Reilly: The change in culture must be led from the top. Those who know something about the world of work will tell us that when staffing levels are low, it becomes extremely difficult for every person working in the health service, not just doctors.