User:fredkenneally Date:19/02/2008Time:23:14:05Edition:20/02/2008Examiner LiveXX2002 Page:4Color:

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4 NEWS Irish Examiner

Wednesday 20.02.2008

A&E fundraising letter was unauthorised, says hospital SIPTU

by Catherine Shanahan
A LETTER sent to Dublin GPs
by a staff member at Beaumont
Hospital A&E department,
requesting help in fundraising
for an ultrasound machine was
written by a member of nursing
staff without authorisation from
the hospital, management
claimed last night.
In the letter, the staff member
said: “The department is in
urgent need of an ultrasound
machine which is required to
speedily assess internal organ
damage resulting from traffic
accidents and knife trauma
wounds.” It added: “It would
be reasonable to assume that
the machine would be a stan-
dard piece of A&E equipment.”
However, the letter said the
hospital was unable to provide
for the ultrasound machine
from its annual budget and that
there was “no alternative” but
for staff to raise the necessary
€24,000 themselves.
GPs were asked if they wished
to take part in a golf classic at
Beaverstown Golf Club in May,
for a fee per team of €450.
Dr Cyril Daly, based in
Killester, Co Dublin, who
received the letter, said it was a
scandal that the A&E
department did not have its
own ultrasound machine.
“If you have a knife stuck
between under shoulder blades,
it is no time to go flashing your
plan E card at the Gullawntha
Medical Clinic with the oak
tree in the atrium and the three
ladies playing the harp. You will
be redirected to the public
hospital,” Dr Daly said.
However, last night
Beaumont Hospital chief
executive Liam Duffy said the
GPs who had received the letter
had been “seriously misled”.
“The letter which Dr Daly
received was written by a single
member of the nursing staff,
without authorisation by the
hospital,” Mr Duffy said. “It
does not represent the views of
the emergency department, as it
purports. The fund raising
initiative referred to in the letter
to Dr Daly has not been
submitted for approval.”
He said the letter “seriously
misrepresented” the needs of
the “exceptionally hard work-
ing emergency department” in
a manner that was unfair to
both the hospital and the agen-
cies which fund its activities.
“Dr Daly was told a dedicat-
ed ultrasound is urgently
needed, it would be ‘reasonable
to assume that the machine
would be a standard piece of
A&E equipment’, the hospital is
unable to fund it and the ED
staff have no alternative but to
fund raise. All of this is totally
incorrect,” Mr Duffy said.
“Fact: This is not a ‘standard
piece of equipment’ in Irish
emergency departments. Staff
in Beaumont’s ED have the
same access to ultrasound as
their counterparts in other large
acute hospitals in Dublin,
including the Mater, Tallaght
and St Vincent’s. None of these
hospital’s EDs currently have
dedicated ultrasound equip-
ment residing within them.
“Fact: Equipment purchases
for the ED are prioritised by the
hospital’s management in
consultation with the ED team
led by the consultants. “The
desirability of having a dedicat-
ed ultrasound machine within
the department was raised
within the past six months. In
response, the hospital has
included it within a much larger
tender currently under way for
new ultrasound equipment for
the entire hospital which will
be completed this year.”
ballots for
strike action
SIPTU will today begin bal-
loting its 1,800 members in
Aer Lingus for strike action in
case the airline introduces its
cost savings plan PCI-07 on
Monday without the union’s
agreement.
Two weeks ago the airline
told SIPTU that if the two
sides could not reach agree-
ment on the make-up of the
€10m savings that must be
found with SIPTU by February
24, it would proceed on that
date with the cost saving
measures.

Motorway
SIPTU’s ballot is due to be
complete by Sunday.

Presidential visit
PRESIDENT Mary McAleese

deaths rise
will making a three-day official
visit to Germany next week.
The head of state’s itinerary
is expected to include the
historic cities of Berlin and
Munich.

as European
Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources
Minister Eamon Ryan will also
be travelling with the delega-
tion to hold talks with German
politicians and officials.

rate falls
Mrs McAleese will depart
on Sunday after she attends
the Six Nations rugby game
between Ireland and Scotland
at Croke Park on Saturday.

by Ann Cahill Staying safe Disaster unit

Europe
Cor respondent
DEATHS on Irish motor-
ways are increasing at
the second-highest rate in
Europe, while they are
dropping in most other
countr ies.
The number of deaths on
Irish motorways have risen
by 11%, while the number
of deaths on Europe’s mo-
torways have fallen by 5.5%
on average a year between
2000 and 2006.
Only Greece has a worse
record with a 12% increase,
according to the report
issued by European Trans-
port Safety Council (ETSC)
in Brussels.
Ireland has the third-
shortest length of motorway
among the 19 countries sur-
How the best do it:
■ Switzerland: Has more
than doubled the number
of speed checks.
■ Denmark: Has a penalty
point for driving 30%
above the speed limit and
loss of licence with three
points.
■ Netherlands: Integrated
road safety design and
traffic management,
awareness campaigns and
police enforcement.
■ Britain: Has active
traffic management
including hard shoulder
running during peak hours;
lower speed levels during
congestion periods and
emergency refuge areas
every 500m with roadside
telephones. Incident
THE Government wants more
recruits for its international
disaster response unit.
The Rapid Response
Corps, launched a year ago,
is a stand-by panel of skilled
volunteers ready to deploy to
humanitarian emergencies for
up to three months at a time.
A roster of 64 professionals
is already in place but the
Government now aims to
expand the corps by at least
another 32.
Foreign Affairs Minister
Dermot Ahern said the recruit-
ment drive focuses on logis-
tics, engineering and human-
itarian skills as well as pro-
tection and education officers
for children.
The first volunteer to be
Anne Tydings, from Lisselton, Co Kerry, stands in front of an image of her son Pádraig, who was killed in a car crash, as she addresses teenagers at deployed, Thurles logistician
the Brandon Hotel as part of the AXA Roadsafe Roadshow. Picture: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus Conor Lyons, died suddenly
in Sri Lanka in September.

Students told of trauma of road crashes

veyed. Even though we have
just a fraction of the motor-
ways used in France and
Germany, the number of
fatalities given their length
and usage is almost the same
(under 3 deaths per billion
vehicle-km on motorways)
— though this is seventh
lowest of the countries sur-
veyed and below the Euro-
pean average (4).
The safest motorways are
in Switzerland, Denmark,
the Netherlands and Britain.
In these countries, less than
two people are killed on
average for every billion
kilometres driven.
The most dangerous mo-
torways are in Slovenia and
Hungary, where travellers
management control
centres have decreased
accidents by 25% on
the M42 outside Birming-
ham.
over the €2 billion a year
towards the cost of new
motorways.
Countries pay far too little
attention to making sure
roads are as safe as possible,
according to John Dawson
chairman of the European
Road Assessment Pro-
g ramme.
“More people are killed
on some sections of Eu-
rope’s roads than die in a
major rail crash, but far less
money is spent changing
by Donal Hickey
THE horror of road traffic
accidents was graphically
brought home to more than
1,500 second-level students
in Tralee, yesterday.
Many were brought to
tears on hearing first-hand
accounts from victims and
family members of the
devastation caused by car
crashes. Some of the real
life images to drive the
safety message home in-
cluded a human brain com-
ing out of an injured skull,
a barely recognisable thigh
bone and a girl’s face ruined
after an accident.
Kerry County Council
road safety education officer
Maria O’Regan said they
were delighted with the
huge turnout of pupils from
about 20 schools around the
county.
‘‘The feedback from those
attending was extremely
positive. Many of students
were touched emotionally
by what they saw and
heard,’’ she added.
‘‘Fourteen people were
killed on Kerry roads last
year and our aim is to
reduce this number. Hope-
fully, the shock factor will
have an impact on young
dr ivers.’’
Among the speakers was
Anne Tydings, from Lissel-
ton, Co Kerry, whose son,
Pádraig, was killed in an
accident on the day after his
22nd birthday.
He was a back seat in the
car which crashed, in 2004.
Another speaker was
Anne-Marie Russell, 24,
who sustained serious leg
injuries when the car in
which she was a passenger
crashed after the driver
apparently fell asleep.
A graduate of the Insti-
tute of Technology, Tralee,
she is still on crutches, 13
months after the accident.
There were also talks by
representatives of the gardaí,
fire brigade and ambulance
services and the A&E de-
partment at Kerry General
Hospital.
Ms O’Regan described
the road safety roadshow as
a worthwhile event that
should leave a lasting im-
pression on young people.
Amnesia case
THE true identity of an Irish
man who is said to have suf-
fered brain damage in sport-
ing activities is being pursued
by medical experts and
police.
Known as David Harrison
the accident is believed to
have happened eight years
ago and the possibility of hav-
ing an Irish background stems
from his accent and reference
to Tipperary. He has lived in
Oldham town, on the outskirts
of Greater Manchester.
He was found collapsed in
Oldham in May 2000 and was
taken to Royal Oldham Hos-

80% of motorway speeders top 141km/h

are four times more likely to
be killed.
Motorways are considered
the safest roads for traffic,
with far fewer fatalities and
accidents happening on
them than other types of
roads.
More than a quarter of the
distances travelled by mo-
torists in the EU are on mo-
torways, even though they
account for only 1% of all
paved roads. But just 8% (or
3,200 annually) of all road
deaths are on motorways.
For drivers in Ireland, the
risk, at less than four deaths
per billion kilometres driv-
en, is below the EU average
— about the same as it is in
Germany and Finland.
Switzerland, France and
Austria have achieved the
biggest reduction in deaths
of between 10% and 15%
from 2000 to 2006.
ETSC, an independent
watchdog monitoring road
safety in Europe, wants the
EU to insist on new safety
strategies before handing
this than is spent on rail, air
and factory safety where
there are far more stringent
laws,” he said.
The length of motorway
in Ireland rose from 100km
in 2000 to 270km in 2006.
A spokesperson for the
Road Safety Authority said
that Ireland still had a com-
paratively small amount of
motorway and the numbers
of accidents and deaths
could fluctuate very much
from one year to the next.
“When you have a crash
they tend to involve multi-
ple vehicles and fatalities.
“The gardaí are looking at
a speed camera strategy and
this will have an effect when
it becomes operational,” the
spokesperson said.
The report lists strategies
other countries have found
successful in reducing the
accidents and fatalities and
they range from opening the
hard shoulder during peak
hours to section speed con-
trol where cameras measure
average speed over 3km.
by Juno McEnroe
FOUR out of five drivers
breaking speed limits on
Irish motorways are racing
at 141km/h or more.
Statistics obtained by the
Irish Examiner for 2007
show drivers caught
speeding across different
speed zones were danger-
ously exceeding limits.
Figures reveal that on city
and town streets, on national
and regional roads as well as
on motorways, nearly three
quarters of drivers speeding
were racing at 20km/h or
more above limits.
Drivers racing at the
treacherous speeds were
clocked by gardaí in 50, 60,
80, 100 and 120km/h
zones.
The speeding statistics
were discouraging, road
safety chiefs conceded
last night.
Figures obtained by the
Irish Examiner reveal . . .
Over 198,000 motorists were caught
speeding on Irish roads last year.
Four out of five drivers breaking limits
on Irish motorways (120km/h)
were racing at over 141 km/h.
Drivers breaking speeds in all zones
by 10km/h or less accounted for
just 6% or 1,103 of those caught.
Over 86% of drivers (33,815) speed-
ing on national roads (100km/h) were
driving over 120km/h.
Nearly 70% of drivers (34,630)
breaking limits in built up areas
(60km/h) were speeding at over
80km/h.
Over 81% of drivers (48,836) caught
speeding on urban and town roads
(50km/h) were doing over 70km/h.
“Speed is the single
biggest factor for road
deaths in Ireland,” said the
Road Safety Authority’s
Noel Brett.
The RSA chief said the
speeding figures were
“hugely disappointing” and
“illustrate the need for ro-
Noel Brett: Speed is single biggest factor for road deaths.
bust action on speed and en-
forcement in this country”.
More than 198,000 mo-
torists were caught speeding
on Irish roads last year.
The largest category of
speeders were those break-
ing limits in housing estates,
on streets and ordinary small
roads, in 50km/h zones.
Up to 48,836 motorists
were caught breaking limits
by 20km/h, reaching speeds
of 70km/h or more on the
urban and town roads.
In the same zone, drivers
breaking the limit by only a
few kilometres were clocked
by gardaí in just 213 cases.
The breaches of speed
limits uncovered by the Irish
Examiner reveal the
treacherous risks drivers are
willing to take to finish
journeys faster.
Dangers to their safety
and other drivers’ will be
highlighted this year as
gardaí turn their attention to
speeders following the
successful clampdown on
drink drivers last year.
The decision to park plans
for a privatised speed camera
system are being countered
by increased numbers of
fixed Gatso cameras for
routes nationwide.
Road safety campaigns in
schools will also be boosted
with videos showing
personal tales of teenagers
seriously hurt in crashes in a
bid to alert youngsters about
the consequences of
dangerous driving.
pital and treated for hypother-
mia but as he recovered it
became apparent he had total
amnesia. A concerted bid is
now underway to establish his
identity.
He is 5ft 5in tall of medium
build and has greying hair and
blue eyes.
Charity appeal
ENABLE Ireland yesterday
announced a fundraising
campaign with fashion retailer
TK Maxx.
GiveGet 2008 calls for
people to spring clean their
wardrobes and bring unwant-
ed items to any TK Maxx or
Enable Ireland store from
February 23 to March 9.
The items will then be sold
in Enable Ireland stores raising
funds to help take action on
disability.
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GAA clubs on the ball for healthy lifestyles

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by Conor Kane
THREE GAA clubs in
Kilkenny have signed up to
the healthy lifestyle as part
of an initiative being
launched by association
president Nickey Brennan
tomorrow night.
Healthy Living Through
Gaelic Games is designed
as a policy on drugs and
alcohol and will be imple-
mented at first by the
Dicksboro, James Stephens
and O’Loughlin Gaels
clubs in Kilkenny city.
The launch takes place
at 7.30pm tomorrow at the
Dicksboro GAA clubhouse
and follows recent debate
within the GAA, and
particularly regarding
post-match celebrations, as
well as general concern
about drugs in all sport.
The initiative, which has
culminated in the produc-
tion of the policy, began in
2007 and involved co-
operation between HSE
drug education officer and
former Tipperary hurler
John Leahy, Garda juvenile
liaison officer Agnes
Reddy and representatives
from the Dicksboro,
O’Loughlin Gaels and
James Stephens clubs.
The project also entailed
facilitating a workshop
with underage representa-
record their input into the
development of the
finalised policy.
Healthy Living Through
Gaelic Games outlines
drug facts, resources for
people requiring help re-
garding substance abuse
problems, a medical
checklist, guidelines for
dealing with incidents of
drug use and club mem-
bers on prescribed medica-
tion, an incident report
form, rules and recom-
mendations for the clubs
and substance use aware-
ness and education.
According to the HSE,
the launch is the first step
to ongoing substance use
the three clubs to continue
in coming years.
HSE drug education of-
ficer John Leahy described
the initiative as “a very im- ������ ����������
portant step” by the three
clubs following recent and
much-publicised incidents
involving drug use among
young people.
“It is a worrying prob-
lem for families, sports
clubs and the workplace.
The creation of a policy is
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attitude to drug use and
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He paid tribute to the
clubs involved for their John Leahy: A very impor- �������������������

on the role of alcohol tives from the clubs, to training programmes for co-operation. tant step.