ireland.com - The Irish Times

Choice of hospital affects likelihood of Caesarean
Non-emergency (elective) Caesarean sections are highest in Kerry General Hospital, at 28 per cent, and Mount Carmel Hospital in Dublin, at 24 per cent, according to a new consumer guide to maternity services to be published later this month. p

Dentists withdraw free care for medical cardholders
Hundreds of dentists have withdrawn from providing free dental care to medical cardholders since the start of the year and others are likely to continue to do so in large numbers, the Irish Dental Association (IDA) said yesterday. p

Harney proposes zoning of urban land for provision of residential care centres
The Minister for Health Mary Harney has proposed that tracts of land should be specifically zoned by local authorities for healthcare-related facilities, particularly the provision of residential care centres. p

Parking fees 'should fund health programmes'
Motorists should have to pay for car parking at supermarkets, shopping centres and workplaces to fund public transport and fight both obesity and climate change, according to an adviser to the World Heath Organisation (WHO). p

Surviving cancer's divide
Improvements in services should lower regional disparities in cancer survival rates highlighted in a new report, writes Theresa Judge p
Nothing is agreed until everything's agreed
As talks between the HSE and hospital consultants resume today, Martin Wall looks at what progress has been made so far and what issues remain outstanding p
Beware the false profits
Heart Beat Maurice Neligan "A reading from the umpteenth letter of St Bertie to the Confusions" - (V. 1- 1000, 000) St Bertie drew close to the disciples who were gathered in Citywest and who were uncertain and unnerved. He apologised to them and explained that much of the verbal diarrhoea they had been exposed to before his advent had resulted from the decision of some newly eco-conscious disciples to supply only Galway water to the faithful. This, he explained, led to the profusion of motions on the Clar. p

Cracking good chocolate
As chocolate lovers prepare to indulge this Easter Sunday, Hélène Hofman finds out why we love chocolate so much, and how it may or may not benefit our health p
Delivering changed birth practices
With less than 50 per cent of all births recorded as normal, Caesarean sections and routine epidurals will become part of our birth culture, finds Sylvia Thompson p
In search of the rabbits
Medical Matters Pat Harrold It is a fact, universally known by doctors, that children between the ages of three and six have rabbits in their ears. This occurrence happily coincides with the stage of their lives when they are likely to present with infections. p
Check-up
What are cluster headaches and who usually gets them? Cluster headaches are relatively rare and are more commonly experienced by men. Typically developing at 20-40 years of age, the vicious pain is usually felt at the temple or around the eye on one side of the head. p

Can you afford to jump queues?
The ethos of our health service changed forever as the first private A&E opened. Laura Slattery reports p
THE PRICE YOU PAY
You don't have to hold private health insurance to attend the private urgent care and A&E clinics. An uninsured person can decide to pay the higher consultation charge because they think they might get faster care in a more convenient location. But the daily hospital fees do effectively prohibit "self-payer" public patients from then being admitted to a private hospital such as the Beacon. p
No cure for food addiction
An article on eating disorders in last week's Health Supplement provoked the following response from Margaret*, a compulsive overeater p
Making sense of the Census
Mind Moves Marie Murray The publication of the 2006 Census figures last Friday provided objective evidence of what was already subjectively known: that is, the extent to which Ireland has changed in almost all domains of living in recent times. p

Dispelling the depression myths
The author of a new book has produced a unique system explaining the biology behind mental illness A GP explains mood disturbances in a fresh and accessible way. Dr Muiris Houston , Medical Correspondent, reports p
Nothing to do
The Bigger Picture Shalini Sinha There is nothing you have to do with your life. Absolutely nothing. There is no particular job you have to have. You don't have to earn loads of money. There is no right person you have to spend your time with. You don't have to get married or have children. There is nothing specific you have to eat. Nowhere in particular you have to go. There is nothing you have to do. p
My Kind of Exercise
TG4 presenter Daragh Ó Tuama tells Patricia Weston that he suffers from a common male phenomenon called "man boobs" p

Being a priest was a 'lotto' dream
A systems analyst decided to follow her dream without waiting to win the lotto, writes Sylvia Thompson p
Beauty beyond disability
Radio Scope Woman's Hour: Female nudes with multiple sclerosis BBC Radio Four, Wednesday, 10am p
Class in campus care
My Working Day Eileen Clarke , registered general nurse and midwife, Student Health Centre, Cork Institute of Technology, cares for more than 10,000 students p
On the Couch
Eamonn Fitzgerald , Chief executive, Hermitage Medical Clinic, Lucan. p
Lifelines
WALKING CHALLENGES: The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) is behind a new initiative to encourage people to walk to keep fit. p

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