Results 221-240 of 3,336 for speaker:Kate O'Connell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Vaccination Programme: Discussion (11 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: For me, as a professional who is well up on these things, I was thinking we need to get that information out. If people like me, who are into vaccines, were worried about it, what was the other lady thinking? Professor Karina Butler mentioned chickenpox. Is there any proposal to roll out the chicken pox vaccine in Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Vaccination Programme: Discussion (11 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: It is done in other countries. Leaving aside the health benefits, there is a massive economic issue. As a working mother, one is nearly putting concealer on them going into the crèche. Once the pox is out, my view is that they should be sent to crèche, but there is a stigma attached to it and then the mother, father or granny has to take days off work. There is an economic loss...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Engagement with Mr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety (23 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I welcome the Commissioner and thank him for his presentation. Many of my questions follow on from those of Deputy Durkan. I am a pharmacist by profession so my view might be a little bit skewed and biased. I would like to follow on from the Commissioner's comments on antibiotics in pig meat. For a long time I have had an issue with powdered antibiotics being put into feeds for chickens...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Engagement with Mr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety (23 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I know that, but my question is in light of Brexit. It will perhaps be more than likely available on the shelves in UK supermarkets. Is that going to happen or do the witnesses know yet? That is my concern. Is hormone beef going to be located in the UK between Ireland and the rest of Europe? I am aware that we do not have hormone beef in Europe.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cancer Registry Board: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I thank Dr. Coffey for coming in. He has large shoes to fill and has done very well. I am aware of how well he has done through a neighbour of mine. He has done amazing work in dealing with massive tragedy for people within his field, for friends and the greater community. To focus in on the human papilloma virus, HPV, vaccine specifically, one of the things I felt got most traction...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: The first line of the professor's statement read that the provision of medical scanning services in Ireland was unregulated. Does that mean a private company can set up a premises with 3-D scanning equipment and just offer fancy photographs to people who for some reason desire a 3-D image of their child? Is that what is happening?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: Let us say a left ventricle was missing, or something like that which would not be diagnosed at the 12-week scan, and take it to its natural conclusion. In Cork or somewhere where 20-week anomaly scans are not fully rolled out, one could go into a glorified photographer at 25-week gestation and maybe even know oneself from looking at the image that something is wrong. The naked eye can tell...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: We have mentioned GPs and ultrasound machines. We have a GP present. GPs deal with a lot of patients in the early stages of pregnancy and are often the ones who first diagnose a pregnancy. Many of them now have ultrasound machines. Has the Medical Council told GPs, as their regulatory body, that if they have not completed the proper course, they are in breach of ethics? What is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I am not sure whether it was Professor Daly or Deputy Louise O'Reilly who said infertility services involved the most vulnerable persons in the most vulnerable circumstances. I have been dealing with this issue for many years in my role as a community pharmacist. There are often very complex prescriptions and I have often wondered about the different regimes of different clinics and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: Finally-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: We spoke about cancer services and I mentioned that the GP was the person on the ground dealing with patients. An earlier delegate spoke about health literacy. It is something that occurred to me in my role. When people attend private fertility clinics, sometimes only the fertility element is focused on. They do not look at anything else such as mental health or something more sinister in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I am going from memory from when Professor Louise Kenny appeared before us. Professor Daly has referred to risk groups. To paraphrase him, my understanding is that there is screening in Cork of people who are over 40 years of age and are X, Y and Z. High-risk people are being taken although, obviously, it has nothing to do with the mother's age, only certain conditions. The committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I assume that Professor Daly is not taking into account the number of people who have been scanned already. The figure is minus that amount.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to Medical Scanning Services (31 May 2017)

Kate O'Connell: It is a good thing that I am here to do the sums, Chairman.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I welcome the witnesses and congratulate the Minister, Deputy Harris. I am happy he is still Minister for Health. I note from his statement he has learned the value of using the available expertise to inform solutions, which is good to see. I also welcome the Ministers of State, Deputies Byrne and Finian McGrath, and congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, on his appointment....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2017)

Kate O'Connell: When we realised the rate was dropping we had catch-up programmes and the immunisation section of the HSE did some work on it. Is that having any effect? Are we having an impact on the falling rates? This is so serious that it needs to be reviewed every three months. The decline has been so rapid that it is not good enough to have an annual review. The current rate is 83% but if we get...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2017)

Kate O'Connell: -----but it will all come to nothing if the figures get down to that level. If what elected Members and the HSE are doing is not helping, we need to do something else. There are 40 girls walking around today who will die from cervical cancer because of the reduction in the vaccination rate. They could be daughters of any of us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (28 Jun 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I thank Mr. O'Brien for his bad news.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Link between Homelessness and Health: Discussion (5 Jul 2017)

Kate O'Connell: At least the Deputy's depression is not affecting his tongue. I am sorry that I have been in and out of this meeting but I had other things on this morning. I know the witnesses were looking for a pharmacist and I might send in my CV. A number of us very much supported the injection centres. I worked in drug addition in the midlands 12 years ago. I see the need for a bespoke, tailored...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Link between Homelessness and Health: Discussion (5 Jul 2017)

Kate O'Connell: I completely agree with the point about someone being condemned to a life on methadone. It is an umbrella term that suggests dirty, bad people. I have seen people for years that have functioning lives who are down to 10 ml to 15 ml of methadone maintenance. One could probably argue that they might not need it at all but it is a crutch and support. I totally agree there is no reason to...