LEGAL ACTION: A nurse with breast cancer is taking legal action against her local health authority in England to force it to give her a powerful life-saving drug to fight the disease.
Barbara Clark, 49, of Bridgwater, Somerset, claims she could be dead within months unless she gets the expensive drug, Herceptin. The mother-of-two is considering using the Human Rights Act in an attempt to force the NHS to give her the drug.
Her lawyers have given Somerset Coast Primary Care Trust 14 days to agree to prescribe her the "magic bullet" drug. But the trust will have little choice but to refuse because Herceptin is only licensed to be used on patients with advanced cancer.
The nurse, who has a terminally ill 11-year-old foster son, intends to use the Human Rights Act to claim the NHS is denying her the right to life. If her landmark legal bid is successful, it could pave the way for hundreds of other women to claim the drug - costing the NHS millions of pounds.
SPORTING HEALTH: Sports injuries and player welfare will be key topics at a conference in Dublin this week, September 23rd and 24th, at the Royal College of Surgeons.
The second annual scientific meeting of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine, RCPI and RCSI will feature a host of Irish and international speakers. The conference, which will be opened by Mr John Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, will include papers on sudden cardiac death, burnout syndrom and the various injuries sports players get.
Dr Gary O'Driscoll, team doctor to the senior Irish rugby team for the past three years, will present a paper on the Lions Tour 2005, where he will examine injury patterns and their prevalence on the tour. Dr John Best, a sports physician who has been involved with rugby medicine since 1992, will present a paper on shoulder injuries and instability, while Prof Per Renstrom, who worked in orthopaedics and sports medicine at Vermont University for more than 10 years, will present on tendon injury. The conference is supported by the Health Promotion Unit in the Department of Health.
ARTHRITIS DAY: Arthritis Ireland will host an Arthritis Information and Awareness Day on Sunday next, September 25th, in the Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar from 2pm to 6pm.
The event will feature six talks from specialists and health professionals on arthritis. Topics will include diet, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In addition, there will be information and displays on complementary therapies, the Irish Red Cross will provide therapeutic hand massages, and a wide range of information will be on display from Arthritis Ireland. Admission is free. For further information contact Arthritis Ireland on 01 661 8188 or visit www.arthritisireland.ie
GP POLL: A survey of 100 GPs has found doctors divided on whether the new head of the Health Service Executive, Prof Brendan Drumm, will be able to transform the health service within his five-year term.
The poll carried out by MORI Ireland for Medicine Weekly found 51 per cent of doctors either slightly or strongly disagreed with the statement that Prof Drumm "will be able to transform the health service within five years".
Some 34 per cent of GPs were optimistic Prof Drumm would achieve his aim and 12 per cent were non-committal either way.
STROKE STUDY: The results of a study conducted in Norway indicate that stroke patients appear to be at increased risk for developing epileptic seizures. The study also shows that the severity of the stroke is a statistically significant predictor for epilepsy.
Healthcare professionals need to be aware of the risk of epilepsy after stroke as anti-epileptic drugs may help in preventing additional seizures, lead investigator Dr Morten Lossius said.
INFORMATION ON ECZEMA: An information day organised by the Irish Eczema Society takes place on Saturday from 10am-3pm in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Consultant dermatologist to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin will talk about managing the condition. There will also be demonstrations on applications of creams and bandaging. Admission is €5. Tel: 01 8321250 for details.