European research on the relationship between nurse patient ratio and recovery rates after surgery

Patient-to-nurse ratios and the level of a nurse’s education directly affect the number of deaths after routine surgery, a major study published this morning suggests.
The study of almost half a million patients from nine European countries, including the Republic of Ireland, found that every one-patient increase in patient-to-nurse ratios is associated with a 7 per cent increase in deaths following surgery. And for every 10 per cent increase in nurses who have attained a bachelor’s degree, there is an associated 7 per cent decline in mortality

Read more in the Irish Times
Read more in the Guardian 
The Lancet

Ambulances waiting up to 16 hours at Dublin hospitals

Ambulances in Dublin are waiting up to 16 hours outside emergency departments to hand over patients, an Oireachtas committee was told yesterday

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A simple blood test could predict if a person is likely to die

Researchers have found that the levels of four "biomarkers" in the body indicated a general level of "frailty". People whose biomarkers were out of kilter were five times more likely to die within five years of the blood test.
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Universal Healthcare Insurance proposals for Ireland

Essentially, it means having the entire population insured with private companies. The plan is for the State to pay the premiums for the least well-off, subsidise others and let people above a certain income pay their own. The hope is that different companies will operate here, providing competition
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Blood pressure drugs could do more harm than good

Millions of elderly people taking high-blood pressure tablets – such as beta-blockers – may be doing themselves more harm than good because the pills increase the risk of fatal falls, scientists have warned.

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Four staff nurses earned over €140,000 last year

 

One staff nurse in the HSE earned over €144,000 last year, one of four nurses to earn over €140,000.

According to figures released by the HSE in response to a freedom of information request, 70 nurses last year earned over €100,000. 

The top-earning nurse was a mental health nurse working in the HSE East Coast area, with two of the other three earning over €140,000 also working in mental health. 

The amounts would have been boosted by unspecified overtime payments and the figures confirm that 19 of the top 25 earning nurses work in mental health. 

The information released also shows that one nurse received €82,258 in overtime, while two other nurses received in excess of €70,000

 

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