Free Republic

More than 50 consultants at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have called on the State to stop using medicines manufactured by an Israeli company where “viable alternatives” are available. Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli multinational, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of generic and specialist drugs. The company, which makes Sudocrem, has a big presence in Ireland and is one of the largest suppliers of generic medicines to the HSE. Teva said any boycott of its medicine could “impose a risk on the health and wellbeing” of patients. …

Nurses and doctors in Irish hospitals have been urged not to call patients “love” or “dear”, the HSE has said. Other pet names, such as “girls”, “lads”, or “boys”, should also not be used by medical staff on wards, under new recommendations from the health executive to ensure staff in hospitals speak in a way that is “person-centered”. Healthcare workers in hospitals have been further instructed to avoid referring to patients by their bed number, diagnosis or affected body area. “Do we talk about ‘feeding people’ instead of assisting with meals, or refer to someone coming back from theater as...