Ireland’s long-suffering family carers urgently need a break, writes Catherine Cox for Independent.ie Carers don’t want our praise or pity. They don’t want to be patronised or indeed canonised. They are not saints. They are ordinary people who are struggling to care for their loved ones without the supports they so desperately need. Carers are […]

There is increasing evidence that people with severe mental illness (SMI) have considerably worse physical health than the general population. A recent study published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology summarises the published efficacy and tolerability of pharmacotherapeutic interventions in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in severe mental illness (SMI), focusing on glucose lowering therapies. In […]

Prof Brendan Kelly assesses the importance of India’s decision to grant a legally binding ‘right to access mental healthcare and treatment’ to its population of some 1.3 billion This article appeared on Medical Independent website on 11th January 2018 Is there a ‘right’ to healthcare? And if so, what does it actually mean? In 1948, […]

The issue of suicide will be accorded particular focus at the upcoming Spring Conference of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, which takes place in Athlone on 12-13 April. This article by Catherine Reilly was published on Medical Independent on 26/03/18 A presentation on ‘Suicide in Doctors — What we Should Know’ by Dr Justin […]

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland requested a 10 per cent increase in basic specialist training (BST) places for 2018, but it was only accorded a 5 per cent increase. This article by Catherine Reilly was published on Medical Independent on 26/03/18 The HSE’s National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) unit has sanctioned 63 BST […]

“Beyond Words” – A series of university-based events exploring the themes of communication and silence, and their importance within Psychiatry.  Medfest, the medically themed one night film festival exploring medicine and psychiatry, will run in three Irish Universities in April this year.  The events will feature film shorts, debate, and discussion, along with complimentary refreshments on […]

President of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, Dr John Hillery, addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Future of Mental care on Wednesday 7th March 2018, on the issue of recruitment and retention of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists to Mental Health Services.   The Committee heard that Ireland ranks behind most other European countries (17th […]

Dr Colin O’Gara, Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist, spoke to Pat Kenny on NewsTalkFM about his study on online gambling activities in Ireland. This is the first national survey of its kind and was published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. Listen to the full interview below: Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study is to look […]

  Should mental health professionals comment in the media about the mental health of politicians or other public figures? Are there any circumstances in which psychiatrists or psychologists should publicly express their views that a given public figure appears to be mentally ill? This article appeared in the Irish Independent on 30th January, 2018. This […]

Launch of Eating Disorders Clinical Programme Dr John Hillery, President of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 24th of January 2018   The Scandinavian Public Health Specialist and epidemiologist Hans Rosling died in 2017. He spent his career fighting medical fallacies with facts. He stated that “the world is discussed in terms of feelings and […]