Doctors vote ‘no confidence’ in Minister
THE Irish Hospital Consultants
Association has voted ‘no confidence’ in Minister for Health
Simon Harris.
In a statement, the IHCA said that hospital consultants believe the minister ‘lacks the understanding to improve hospital conditions for public patients’.
‘Hospital consultants across our public health service no longer have confidence in Minister Harris,’ said IHCA president Dr Donal O’Hanlon.
‘We do not believe that he has the authority, understanding, inclination or experience to deliver timely, quality hospital care for patients. He has become increasingly complacent and deaf to the suffering of patients across Ireland.
The vote was unanimously passed by the council of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) following an emergency meeting which took place on Saturday in Dublin.
The meeting of hospital consultant representatives was called to discuss the deteriorating conditions across acute hospitals and the detrimental impact this is having on public patients, according to the IHCA statement.
They said that record numbers of patients are being treated on trolleys, there are unacceptably long waits in emergency departments, particularly for vulnerable elderly patients, and there are increasing numbers of patients waiting many months and years to access care.
‘Over the last seven months, Minister Harris has failed to honour several commitments to engage with consultant representatives to address the crisis in our acute public hospitals,’ read the statement.
Minister Harris had not responded to a request for comment at the time of going to press. THE first episode of ‘Darklands’ aired last Monday night on Virgin One, with Bray one of the stars of the new drama, and looking spectacular on-screen.
While recognising most of the locations was something of a distraction, the opening episode left viewers wanting to know more, and rooting for its young protagonist from ‘The Hill’, Damien Dunne.
Sweeping wide shots of Bray Head and the seafront showed Bray in its best light, even with some of the series exploring the darker sides of life.
The first scenes introduced us to aspiring MMA star Damien, who is keeping is head down and training hard. His brother Wesley, on the other hand, is involved with a gang, much to the chagrin of their father.
Within moments of the opening credits, Damien’s little sister is pointing a gun at him, the weapon left lying around by a careless Wes.
‘What essentially happens to Damien is, he is on this trajectory to become a professional fighter, which is an absolute dream, but he keeps getting drawn down another path,’ said executive producer Ruth Coady.
Some of the other characters we met in the first episode include gang boss Bernie, her brother Butsy, and tough-asnails Donna, who is one of the younger gang members and a friend of Damien’s.
Damien, meanwhile, enters Romeo-and-Juliet territory, as he dates Nicola, the sister of members of a rival gang and an aspiring artist, as much full of hope and promise as her boyfriend.
We suspect the star-crossed lovers will face much adversity before the end of season one of Darklands.
‘One of the interesting things about this show is it is full of a lot of new faces,’ said Coady, who has high hopes for the leading man.
Dane Whyte O’Hara, who plays the main character, is an MMA fighter, but has never acted before. ‘We think Dane is extraordinary,’ said Ms Coady. ‘We went through an enormous and rigorous casting process all over the country. Dane is the unicorn we thought we would never find. I think he’s probably going to be a huge star.’
Damien’s journey will be the spine of the show. It’s an emotional and hopeful journey, navigating the road he finds himself on. He has to become a man, make decisions, and do things he doesn’t want to do.
Writers Mark O’Connor and Adam Coates wanted to make a show about kids in circumstances where they lose control over what they get to do.
The programme was in part inspired by an experience that Adam Coates had.
His brother was Shane Coates, who was the leader of the Westies gang. Shane was missing for two years before being found dead in 2006.
‘Because we have gone so far from that story in terms of character and detail, it’s not based on that,’ said Coady.
Thommas Kane-Byrne, who plays Butsy, couldn’t be more different in temperament to