farmer would be better than you; heâd actually consider whats in front of him without going off half cocked with a full address book
As it happens Tony OâBrien is being an Oireachtas committee this morning. OâBrien insisting people need to wait until the outcome of an enquiry into the scandal, which Iâm sure will be protracted just long enough for him to ride off into the sunset with a golden handshake in a couple of months.
Tony OâBrien, Director General of the HSE, was asked about the interview while appearing before the Public Accounts Committee this morning. He said he âwasnât in a position to hear the interviewâ but will listen to it âwhen I have an opportunity to do soâ.
âIt is clearly always very tragic when any young person receives a diagnosis of terminal cancer,â OâBrien said.
Fianna FĂĄil TD Marc MacSharry was among those to say OâBrienâs position is untenable. He described Emmaâs interview as âharrowingâ, adding: âWe have an entire nation of women terrified.â
In a robust exchange, MacSharry said if such a controversy had taken place in the private sector, OâBrien would âbe gone months agoâ.
âYou wouldnât last 20 minutes [in the commercial sector] and you know it.â
marc Marc MacSharry
Source: Oireachtas.ie
OâBrien disagreed, telling MacSharry: âYou are causing hysteria. You are absolutely failing to accept the reality of population-based screening.â
He noted that CervicalCheck is a screening rather than diagnostic programme, and is not perfect.
OâBrien said people shouldnât jump to conclusions before the outcome of the inquiry into the controversy.
Sinn FĂŠin TD David Cullinane told OâBrien: âYou have a job to do as Director General of the HSE, we have a job as public representatives to hold you to account.
Thatâs why youâre paid the salary that youâre paid, the buck stops with you ⌠The hysteria has been caused by the systemic flaws in your organisation.
He said OâBrienâs resignation would be âthe very first step in you taking accountability and the HSE taking accountabilityâ.
âAnybody with half a brain would know that it is a systemic failure,â Cullinane said, adding that it âspeaks volumesâ that OâBrien disagrees.
OâBrien responded by saying there is a difference between a system failure and a systemic failure.
_âPlaying with peopleâs livesâ _
OâBrien noted that only 48 of the 209 women whose results were examined in an audit into CervicalCheck smear tests were informed.
He said certain people spent âfar too much timeâ deciding who should tell the women involved, adding that this was not an official position taken by the HSE.
Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy described Emmaâs terminal cancer diagnosis as âa catastrophic failure for her and a catastrophic failure for the health serviceâ.
She said the doctors who failed to tell patients about issues with their smear tests âwere playing with peopleâs livesâ.
OâBrien said âanyone who is found to have failed in their dutyâ will be held to account following due process and disciplinary procedures. He said the outcome of this process will be made public once it is complete.
OâBrien said he takes âpartial responsibilityâ for what happened but cannot be held accountable for the actions of others.
He said the public is generally well-served by employees of the HSE and CervicalCheck, who are âas devastated as anybody by the circumstances that have now unfoldedâ.
No iâm cold, calm, experienced and robust.
I lolled at this 
Thatâs the problem with ye. Ye think ye need others.
Automatic response.
Not âhow do I sort thisâ
Itâs the parenting
IFPA is not state run. In fact it has been quite opposed to the State on many issues over the years and has sued the State here and abroad.
Ok interesting. Any particular cases worth looking at?
Who pays the wages?
My consultant is almost unimaginably blunt. But heâs excellent alright. But he doesnât talk to me when I see him. He just talks into his dictaphone* about me in the third person and I get my news from listening to a letter heâs writing about me to another consultant. Itâs fucking bizarre but heâs excellent.
* Iâm not actually sure if he uses the Dictaphone brand of dictation assistant.
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My GP does that. I personally know him and have been in his house. He goes home and listens to each one every night.
I am sure he is not the only one but I would say he is small minority.
How is he excellent?
Assume by not talking directly to him.
Rocko would like that.
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Well hes still alive isnât he. Thank god.
I did get a laugh off these comments on case in The Journal
Anne Robinson
2hours ago
@Anne Robinson: I have formally asked Leo and/or the HSE and/or CervicalCheck to have my last two smear tests audited to check the accuracy of the results. I would image this would be a more cost-effective way to deal with the situation and would prevent thousands of women go through the trauma of having their smear tests done again. Please encourage all women to do the same.
Gabrielle
1hour ago
@Anne Robinson: that is a great idea. How did you make you request? Just tweet them or do you have an email address? Thanks.
3 Likes
Fair enough.
Well I think they had an involvement with the X case.
Hereâs a human rights case they took against Ireland regarding the provision of information on abortion.
http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2010/2032.html
I donât know where their funding comes from. Iâd guess much of it comes from overseas. They do get some State funding, like many charities, but thatâs different to being state-controlled or operated.
Do you need a belly rub as well?
youre working on the presumption that you know what the problem is. thatâs where several people fail, they donât solve the problem at hand because they donât understand what it is exactly theyre supposed to fix
Whatever - you fucking headbanger.
Ya agreed.
No I was wrong on my impression of them.
I find TOM carry on even more bizarre and worrying so
1 Like
Actually ypu are totally wrong.
The problem itself is secondary.
Itâs if itâs a sympathetic or parasympathetic response you have that matters.
What is actually the problem and what can I actually control.
The quicker ypu get to those questions the better. Your nervous system response will dictate that
I know which one an emotional reactive fella like farmer would be anyway.