EUROPEAN NEWS IN BRIEF - Irish A&E efficiency scheme a fillip for endoscopy, pathology, imaging:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Twenty-four Irish hospitals are to share over Euro10m ($13.8m) to invest in A&E service improvements, notably in the areas of endoscopy, pathology and imaging. The funding is being made available under the "100+ Scheme", designed to reward well-performing departments with the creation of consultant posts in priority areas. The first 60 appointments - in emergency medicine, radiology, general medicine, general surgery and geriatric medicine - "will help improve direct GP access to diagnostics and speed up the availability of diagnostic results", according to the Health Service Executive. The projects feature direct access on the part of general practitioners to endoscopy, "real time reporting on X-rays" and faster pathology processing. A further 40 new consultant posts are due to be announced in October.